Improved remote sensing methods to detect northern wild rice (Zizania palustris L.)

Declining populations of Zizania palustris L. (northern wildrice, or wildrice) during the last century drives the demand for new and innovative techniques to support monitoring of this culturally and ecologically significant crop wild relative. We trained three wildrice detection models in R and Google Earth Engine using data from annual aquatic vegetation surveys in northern Minnesota. Three di erent training datasets, varying in the definition of wildrice presence, were combined with Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery to map wildrice in 2015 using random forests. Spectral predictors were derived from phenologically important time periods of emergence (June–July) and peak harvest (August–September). The range of the Vertical Vertical (VV) polarization between the two time periods was consistently the top predictor. Model outputs were evaluated using both point and area-based validation (polygon). While all models performed well in the point validation with percent correctly classified ranging from 83.8% to 91.1%, we found polygon validation necessary to comprehensively assess wildrice detection accuracy. Our practical approach highlights a variety of applications that can be applied to guide field excursions and estimate the extent of occurrence at landscape scales. Further testing and validation of the methods we present may support multiyear monitoring which is foundational for the preservation of wildrice for future generations

Shear-Thinning Nanocomposite Hydrogels for the Treatment of Hemorrhage

Internal hemorrhaging is a leading cause of death after traumatic injury on the battlefield. Although several surgical approaches such as the use of fibrin glue and tissue adhesive have been commercialized to achieve hemostasis, these approaches are difficult to employ on the battlefield and cannot be used for incompressible wounds. Here, we present shear-thinning nanocomposite hydrogels composed of synthetic silicate nanoplatelets and gelatin as injectable hemostatic agents. These materials are demonstrated to decrease in vitro blood clotting times by 77%, and to form stable clot-gel systems. In vivo tests indicated that the nanocomposites are biocompatible and capable of promoting hemostasis in an otherwise lethal liver laceration. The combination of injectability, rapid mechanical recovery, physiological stability, and the ability to promote coagulation result in a hemostat for treating incompressible wounds in out-of-hospital, emergency conditions.United States. Army Research Office (Contract W911NF-13-D-0001)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Interdepartmental Biotechnology Training Program NIH/NIGMS 5T32GM008334

Cyclooxygenases and the cardiovascular system.

Cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 are centrally important enzymes within the cardiovascular system with a range of diverse, sometimes opposing, functions. Through the production of thromboxane, COX in platelets is a pro-thrombotic enzyme. By contrast, through the production of prostacyclin, COX in endothelial cells is antithrombotic and in the kidney regulates renal function and blood pressure. Drug inhibition of COX within the cardiovascular system is important for both therapeutic intervention with low dose aspirin and for the manifestation of side effects caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This review focuses on the role that COX enzymes and drugs that act on COX pathways have within the cardiovascular system and provides an in-depth resource covering COX biology and pharmacology. The review goes on to consider the role of COX in both discrete cardiovascular locations and in associated organs that contribute to cardiovascular health. We discuss the importance of, and strategies to manipulate the thromboxane: prostacyclin balance. Finally within this review the authors discuss testable COX-2-hypotheses intended to stimulate debate and facilitate future research and therapeutic opportunities within the field

Production and Life History of Paragnetina Media (Walker) (Insecta: Plecoptera) in a Central Wisconsin Stream

The life history and production of the stonefly Paragnetina media (Walker) were studied in the lower Tomorrow River, a central Wisconsin stream, from June 1983 to August 1984. Adults exhibited a prolonged synchronous emergence beginning in early June. Individuals emerging early in the emergence period were on average statistically larger (p < 0.05) than those emerging later. Females deposited a mean of 4 egg masses in the laboratory, and mean fecundity was 1473 eggs. Eggs were kept at 5 constant temperatures (range 5-30 degrees C) in the laboratory. The percentage of eggs that hatched generally increased with increasing water temperature. Hatching time (days after oviposition at which 10%, 50%, and 90% of the eggs hatched) decreased with increasing water temperature, and the relationships between the two variables were well described by a hyperbola over the temperature range 15-25 degrees C; therefore, the time taken for development was expressed in units of degree-days (DD) above a threshold temperature. Hatching time for fertilized eggs was shorter than for unfertilized eggs. Larvae exhibited a complex semivoltine life cycle, with either a 2, 3, or mixed (2 and 3), year period of development. Length frequency analysis indicated variability in the life cycle duration depending on the time of egg hatch. Larvae that hatched in late summer following emergence required 3 years for development; whereas, larvae that hatched the following spring required about 2 years. The size-frequency distributions and the Janetschek method indicated ca. 26 instars for males and 30 instars for females. In later instars, female larvae were distinctly larger than males. Annual production, calculated from the sum of male and female production estimates using the size frequency method with a CPI of 940 d, was 7.13 g wet weight/m2 riffle, with P/B ratios of 5.04 (cohort) and 1.96 (annual). Production by females from 76% of total production.University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, and the Worth Compan

Pharmacological characteristics of solid-phase von Willebrand factor in human platelets

1. The pharmacological characteristics of solid-phase von Willebrand factor (svWF), a novel platelet agonist, were studied. 2. Washed platelet suspensions were obtained from human blood and the effects of svWF on platelets were measured using aggregometry, phase-contrast microscopy, flow cytometry and zymography. 3. Incubation of platelets with svWF (0.2 – 1.2 μg ml(−1)) resulted in their adhesion to the ligand, while co-incubations of svWF with subthreshold concentrations of ADP, collagen and thrombin resulted in aggregation. 4. 6B4 inhibitory anti-glycoprotein (GP)Ib antibodies abolished platelet adhesion stimulated by svWF, while aggregation was reduced in the presence of 6B4 and N-Acetyl-Pen-Arg-Gly-Asp-Cys, an antagonist of GPIIb/IIIa. 5. Platelet adhesion stimulated with svWF was associated with a concentration-dependent increase in expression of GPIb, but not of GPIIb/IIIa. 6. In contrast, collagen (0.5 – 10.0 μg ml(−1)) caused down-regulation of GPIb and up-regulation of GPIIb/IIIa in platelets. 7. Solid-phase vWF (1.2 μg ml(−1)) resulted in the release of MMP-2 from platelets. 8. Inhibition of MMP-2 with phenanthroline (10 μM), but not with aspirin or apyrase, inhibited platelet adhesion stimulated with svWF. 9. In contrast, human recombinant MMP-2 potentiated both the effects of svWF on adhesion and up-regulation of GPIb. 10. Platelet adhesion and aggregation stimulated with svWF were reduced by S-nitroso-n-acetyl-penicillamine, an NO donor, and prostacyclin. 11. Thus, stimulation of human platelets with svWF leads to adhesion and aggregation that are mediated via activation of GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa, respectively. 12. Mechanisms of activation of GPIb by svWF involve the release of MMP-2, and are regulated by NO and prostacyclin