Systematics of Microhylid Frogs, Genus Oreophryne, from the North Coast Region of New Guinea

Fig. 4. Regression of internarial span on snout­vent length in two samples of Oreophryne biroi from Papua New Guinea. Squares, specimens from Madang Prov.; crosses, specimens from East Sepik Prov.Published as part of <i>ZWEIFEL, RICHARD G., MENZIES, JAMES I. & PRICE, DAVID, 2003, Systematics of Microhylid Frogs, Genus Oreophryne, from the North Coast Region of New Guinea, pp. 1-32 in American Museum Novitates 3415</i> on page 10, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0082(2003)415<0001:SOMFGO>2.0.CO;2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10111440">http://zenodo.org/record/10111440</a&gt

Statutory frameworks, institutions and policy processes for climate adaptation : Final Report

Funded under the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, this study addresses two objectives: To assess the extent to which existing statutory frameworks, associated institutions and policy processes support or impede national adaptation planning and practice, and To make a significant contribution to the development and implementation of a strategic national policy framework. The rationale for conducting this study was two-fold. First, that significant climate change is unavoidable and that it is in Australia’s national interest to adapt to those changes. Climate impacts are many and varied, direct and indirect, hard to predict and quantify generally but particularly at the local scale, and impacts will inevitably affect all sectors and jurisdictions. For this reason, it is a complex policy problem. The IPCC, for example, identifies ten key areas of impact for Australia including increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events such as droughts, bushfires and floods, higher peak temperatures for longer periods of time, and sea level rise. Despite the lack of hard economic data with respect to costs and benefits that might underpin formal business cases to determine precise levels of investment needed for adaptation, the case to adapt is compelling considering the projected effects to Australia’s economy, infrastructure, communities, environment and human life. Second, Australia’s capacity to adapt to climate change will rely on robust, efficient, transparent, fair and flexible institutions which build a resilient and enabling environment in which the necessary behavioural change can occur. While humans and our institutions have a remarkable capacity to adapt to all manner of change, this can occur at great cost to society as a whole or certain segments of it without the guiding hand of judicious policy intervention. This report synthesises our key findings against the two project objectives. In doing so, it focuses on (i) where institutional arrangements currently support or impede climate adaptation policy, and (ii) where revisions or new institutions may be required, and the potential for a strategic national policy framework to achieve those reforms

Large Differences in Small RNA Composition Between Human Biofluids.

Extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) and other small RNAs are implicated in cellular communication and may be useful as disease biomarkers. We systematically compared small RNAs in 12 human biofluid types using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). miRNAs and tRNA-derived RNAs (tDRs) accounted for the majority of mapped reads in all biofluids, but the ratio of miRNA to tDR reads varied from 72 in plasma to 0.004 in bile. miRNA levels were highly correlated across all biofluids, but levels of some miRNAs differed markedly between biofluids. tDR populations differed extensively between biofluids. Y RNA fragments were seen in all biofluids and accounted for >10% of reads in blood plasma, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Reads mapping exclusively to Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) were very rare, except in seminal plasma. These results demonstrate extensive differences in small RNAs between human biofluids and provide a useful resource for investigating extracellular RNA biology and developing biomarkers

Governance in Nonprofit Community Health Systems: An Initial Report on CEO Perspectives

Compares the structures, compositions, practices, processes, and cultures of nonprofit healthcare governing boards with selected benchmarks of good governance. Presents survey data from 123 community health systems and includes recommendations

Feasibility of Enceladus plume biosignature analysis: Successful capture of organic ice particles in hypervelocity impacts

Enceladus is a compelling destination for astrobiological analyses due to the presence of simple and complex organic constituents in cryovolcanic plumes that jet from its subsurface ocean. Enceladus plume capture during a flyby or orbiter mission is an appealing method for obtaining pristine ocean samples for scientific studies of this organic content because of the high science return, reduced planetary protection challenges, and lower risk and expense compared to a landed mission. However, this mission profile requires sufficient amounts of plume material for sensitive analysis. To explore the feasibility and optimization of the required capture systems, light gas gun experiments were carried out to study organic ice particle impacts on indium surfaces. An organic fluorescent tracer dye, Pacific Blue™, was dissolved in borate buffer and frozen into saline ice projectiles. During acceleration, the ice projectile breaks up in flight into micron‐sized particles that impact the target. Quantitative fluorescence microscopic analysis of the targets demonstrated that under certain impact conditions, 10–50% of the entrained organic molecules were captured in over 25% of the particle impacts. Optimal organic capture was observed for small particles (d ~ 5–15 µm) with velocities ranging from 1 to 2 km s$^{−1}$. Our results reveal how organic capture efficiency depends on impact velocity and particle size; capture increases as particles get smaller and as velocity is reduced. These results demonstrate the feasibility of collecting unmodified organic molecules from the Enceladus ice plume for sensitive analysis with modern in situ instrumentation such as microfluidic capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis with ppb organic sensitivity

A Framework for Sharing Handwritten Notes

NotePals is an ink-based, collaborative note taking application that runs on personal digital assistants (PDAs). Meeting participants write notes in their own handwriting on a PDA. These notes are shared with other participants by synchronizing later with a shared note repository that can be viewed using a desktop-based web browser. NotePals is distinguished by its lightweight process, interface, and hardware. This demonstration illustrates the design of two different NotePals clients and our web-based note browser. Keywords PDA, pen-based user interface, CSCW, informal user interfaces, gestures, digital ink, mobile computin