Genetic implications of reduced survival of male red deer \u3ci\u3eCervus elaphus\u3c/i\u3e under harvest

We use simple, multivariate evolutionary models to evaluate the short-term potential for size-selective harvest to reduce genetic variability and alter life history in cervids. These genetic effects limit sustainable levels of harvest of the animals because they determine how changes in sex ratio, generation length and traits contributing to fitness influence population growth rate and local adaptation. Our analysis of harvest-mediated adaptive evolution employs a genetic approach that parameterizes models with empirical data obtained from European red deer Cervus elaphus. The analysis indicates that harvest, if sufficiently high to reduce the breeding ratio of males to females to below about 15:100, can reduce effective population size to a level that threatens adaptive potential. The reduction in effective size is realized through decreases in both sex ratio of breeders and the age of breeding males. Predicted selective effects of harvest on body size indicates a weak potential to alter most life-history traits over 10 generations under two harvest scenarios; the patterns suggest that current modes of harvest are unlikely to produce substantial life-history changes in red deer over 10 or fewer generations unless the genetic influences on red deer traits are considerably higher than those predicted here. Nevertheless, male reproductive success is expected to decline detectably if male harvest rate is sufficiently high (\u3e30%). Collectively, our results imply that harvest methods should permit higher post-hunt male:female ratios (18:100 or higher) and ensure that a sufficient number of larger, older males survive the breeding season. The capacity of selective harvest to alter demography and life history depends heavily on the genetic covariance structure underlying variation in these traits, information that is unknown for many red deer populations. Prudent harvest management should therefore implement and monitor approaches to hunting that aim to conserve life-history variation; meanwhile, use of less selective methods can reduce the risk to long-term adaptive potential and may permit higher sustainable harvest rates

Functional plasticity in the type IV secretion system of Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori causes clinical disease primarily in those individuals infected with a strain that carries the cytotoxin associated gene pathogenicity island (cagPAI). The cagPAI encodes a type IV secretion system (T4SS) that injects the CagA oncoprotein into epithelial cells and is required for induction of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-8 (IL-8). CagY is an essential component of the H. pylori T4SS that has an unusual sequence structure, in which an extraordinary number of direct DNA repeats is predicted to cause rearrangements that invariably yield in-frame insertions or deletions. Here we demonstrate in murine and non-human primate models that immune-driven host selection of rearrangements in CagY is sufficient to cause gain or loss of function in the H. pylori T4SS. We propose that CagY functions as a sort of molecular switch or perhaps a rheostat that alters the function of the T4SS and "tunes" the host inflammatory response so as to maximize persistent infection

A Cold Nearby Cloud Inside the Local Bubble

The high-latitude Galactic H I cloud toward the extragalactic radio source 3C 225 is characterized by very narrow 21 cm emission and absorption indicative of a very low H I spin temperature of about 20 K. Through high-resolution optical spectroscopy, we report the detection of strong, very narrow Na I absorption corresponding to this cloud toward a number of nearby stars. Assuming that the turbulent H I and Na I motions are similar, we derive a cloud temperature of 20 (+6, -8) K (in complete agreement with the 21 cm results) and a line-of-sight turbulent velocity of 0.37+/-0.08 km/s from a comparison of the H I and Na I absorption linewidths. We also place a firm upper limit of 45 pc on the distance of the cloud, which situates it well inside the Local Bubble in this direction and makes it the nearest-known cold diffuse cloud discovered to date.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

A Parallactic Distance of 389 +24/-21 parsecs to the Orion Nebula Cluster from Very Long Baseline Array Observations

We determine the parallax and proper motion of the flaring, non-thermal radio star GMR A, a member of the Orion Nebula Cluster, using Very Long Baseline Array observations. Based on the parallax, we measure a distance of 389 +24/-21 parsecs to the source. Our measurement places the Orion Nebula Cluster considerably closer than the canonical distance of 480 +/- 80 parsecs determined by Genzel et al. (1981). A change of this magnitude in distance lowers the luminosities of the stars in the cluster by a factor of ~ 1.5. We briefly discuss two effects of this change--an increase in the age spread of the pre-main sequence stars and better agreement between the zero-age main-sequence and the temperatures and luminosities of massive stars.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, emulateapj, accepted to Ap

A Synthetic 21-cm Galactic Plane Survey of an SPH Galaxy Simulation

We have created synthetic neutral hydrogen (HI) Galactic Plane Survey data cubes covering 90 degrees < l < 180 degrees, using a model spiral galaxy from SPH simulations and the radiative transfer code TORUS. The density, temperature and other physical parameters are fed from the SPH simulation into TORUS, where the HI emissivity and opacity are calculated before the 21-cm line emission profile is determined. Our main focus is the observation of Outer Galaxy `Perseus Arm' HI, with a view to tracing atomic gas as it encounters shock motions as it enters a spiral arm interface, an early step in the formation of molecular clouds. The observation of HI self-absorption features at these shock sites (in both real observations and our synthetic data) allows us to investigate further the connection between cold atomic gas and the onset of molecular cloud formation.Comment: MNRAS accepted; 11 pages, 12 figure

Gas Accretion is Dominated by Warm Ionized Gas in Milky Way-Mass Galaxies at z ~ 0

We perform high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of a Milky Way-mass galaxy in a fully cosmological setting using the adaptive mesh refinement code, Enzo, and study the kinematics of gas in the simulated galactic halo. We find that the gas inflow occurs mostly along filamentary structures in the halo. The warm-hot (10^5 K 10^6 K) ionized gases are found to dominate the overall mass accretion in the system (with dM/dt = 3-5 M_solar/yr) over a large range of distances, extending from the virial radius to the vicinity of the disk. Most of the inflowing gas (by mass) does not cool, and the small fraction that manages to cool does so primarily close to the galaxy (R <~ 20 kpc), perhaps comprising the neutral gas that may be detectable as, e.g., high-velocity clouds. The neutral clouds are embedded within larger, accreting filamentary flows, and represent only a small fraction of the total mass inflow rate. The inflowing gas has relatively low metallicity (Z/Z_solar < 0.2). The outer layers of the filamentary inflows are heated due to compression as they approach the disk. In addition to the inflow, we find high-velocity, metal-enriched outflows of hot gas driven by supernova feedback. Our results are consistent with observations of halo gas at low z.Comment: 10 pages including 5 figures, submitted to Ap

NAFTA Students'Whistle-blowing Perceptions: A Case of Sexual Harassmen

Key words: Sexual harrasment, NAFTA, organizations, policiesAbstract. Whistle-blowing mechanisms in the U.S. have gained more prominence as an element of legal compliance and antifraud programs. Sexual harassment is a significant business risk in terms of financial costs and the loss of reputation. lt is important for corporations to develop sexual harassment policies and to provide mechanisms for employees toreport sexual harassment behaviors to upper level management. This paper reports on business students' responses to a possible Sexual Harassment scenario from Arthur Andersen's Business Ethics Program and the actions that the characters in the video should take in terms of whistle-blowing. l fall 2004,78 students from two U.S. universities and one Mexican and one Canadian university participated in the prolect as part of the NAFIA Challenges of Accounting and Buslness Sysfems Granf funded by the United States Department of Education Fund for the lmprovement of PostSecondary Education (FIPSE), Human Resources Develópment Canada (HRDC), and Mexico's Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP). Students from the three NAFTA countries were shown the vignette and asked to respond to a pre-questionnaire concerning the characters' behaviors and possible actions. The students were then asked to discuss the situation and write a reoort from the points of view of the three characters in the vigneite and also to find a copy of an organizations' sexual harassment policy from the Internet. At the end of the project the students responded to a post questionnaire. The students were asked to consider whether the characters should report the possible harasser totheir supervisor, and thus engage in whistle-blowing behavior. Hypotheses are formulated for the three NAFTA'countries based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions and comparisons are made based on overall responses to the pre-and posfquestionnaire. There were significant differences, but in some cases not in the direction expected. Gender differences are also explored, but there were few significant differences. The authors are working under the NAFTA Challenges of Accounting and Busrness Sysferns Grant from the United States Department of Education Fund for the lmprovement of PostSecondary Education (FIPSE), Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), and Mexico's Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP).Palabras claves: Hostigamiento sexual, NAFTA, organizaciones, políticasResúmen. Los llamados "mecanismos de silbato de alerta" en los Estados Unidos han ganado más prominencia como elemento de Ia conformidad legal y de los programasntifraude. El hostigamiento sexual es un riesgo significativo del negocio en términos de costos financieros y la pérdida de reputación. Esimportante que las corporaciones desarrollen políticas para prevenir y sancionar el hostigamiento sexual en los centros de trabajo y proporcionen los mecanismos para los empleados sobre los comportamientos de hostigamiento sexual y ofrezcan información al respecto a la gerencia. Esta investigaciónnternacional por medio de sus resultados frece las respuestas delos estudiantes de las escuelas de negocios de México, Canadá y Estados Unidos sobre un panorama de posible hostigamiento sexual, y forma parte del programa del ética de negocio de promover en las Universidades la firma internacional de consultoría Arturo Andersen y de las acciones que se observaron elos caracteresn un vídeo realizado para este propósito, y que acciones deben tomar en términos de la utilización del "silbato de altera". En otoño del 2004, 78 estudiantes de dos universidades EEUU, una universidad mexicana y una canadiense participaron en el proyecto como parte de los Retos de NAFTA de los sistemas Grant de contabilidad y negocios financiados por el departamento de Educación delos Estados Unidos Secretaría Poste-Secundario de Educación Pública (SEPT) de la educación (FIPSE), del desanollo de recursos humanos en Canadá (HRDC), y de México. Mediante uso de video y escenificación que fue enviado y posteriormente fueron recibidas las respuestas de los estudiantes delos tres países de NAFTA además de responder a un cuestionario referente a los comportamientos y a las acciones posibles de los caracteres del video. Posteriormente y mediante el uso de Internet, los estudiantes pudieron discutir lasituación y escribir un informe de los puntos de la vista de los tres caracteres en el video y elaborar una propuesta de una política sobre hostigamiento sexual de las organizaciones. Al final del proyecto ls estudiantes respondieron a un cuestionario. Pidieron considerar si los caracteres deben divulgar el hostigamiento posible a su supervisor, y como los estudiantes se comprometían a utilizar el mecanismo desilbato de alerta, Las hipótesis se formulan para los tres paÍses del NAFTA basados en las dimensiones culturales de Hofstede y se hacen las comparaciones baado en respuestas totales alos cuestionarios. Se encontraron diferencias significativas, pero en algunos casos no en la dirección esperada. Las diferencias del género también se exploran, pero había pocas diferencias significativas. Los autorautores están trabajando bajo desafíos de NAFTA de los sistemas Grant de la contabilidad y del negocio del departamento de Estados Unidos del fondo de la educación para la mejora de Secretaría Poste-Secundario de Educación Pública (SEPT) de lA educación (FIPSE), del desarrollo de recursos humanos Canadá (HRDC), y de México