The influence of logging upon the foraging behaviour and diet of the endangered Bornean banteng

Logging causes soil compaction and alters the vegetation structure and plant diversity, and ungulates must adapt to modified conditions if they are to survive. We investigated the impact of logging upon the foraging ecology of the Bornean banteng using camera traps and botanical surveys. General linear models were used to explore the effects of site characteristics and plant diversity upon foraging duration, and plant specimens were identified to confirm dietary preferences. Foraging events were recorded over 40,168 nights in five forests. Foraging duration significantly decreased in open areas depauperate in species richness (F=7.82, p=<0.01); however, it increased with elevation (F=3.46, p=0.05). Their diet comprised eight invasive species (Mikania cordata and Chromolaena odorata, Cyperus difformis, Fimbristylis littoralis and Scleria sp., Desmodium triflorum, Eleusine indica and Selaginella sp.), which are characteristic of disturbed forest and fast to establish. Logging creates ideal conditions for these plants, which are preferentially selected by bantengs. Whilst logging may increase forage, the disturbances logging causes to the bantengs and the ensuing poaching may counteract any positive benefits. Developing forest management strategies that incorporate conservation of the bantengs may in turn encourage more favourable conditions for emergent timber species and also conserve this endangered wild cattle species

Freight Analysis Framework Version 5 (FAF5) Base Year 2017 Data Development Technical Report

DE-AC05-00OR22725The Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) integrates data from a variety of sources to create a comprehensive national picture of freight movements among states and major metropolitan areas by all modes of transportation. The latest of this data series is FAF5, which is the fifth generation FAF and is benchmarked on Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) 2017. Except for FAF1 that provided estimates for truck, rail, and water tonnage for calendar year 1998, later generations of FAF (FAF2 through FAF5) were built based on their benchmark year CFS data, for 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017 respectively. The FAF is produced under a partnership between Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). As a major data product of the FAF program, the FAF regional database provides a national picture of freight flows to, from, and within the United States (among regions and states), by commodity and mode for the base year, as well as for forecasts up to 30 years into the future in a 5-year interval. Additional FAF data products also include FAF network flows database, where truck movements are routed onto the national highway network, estimates of annual projections, and synchronized historical data series. This report is a technical document prepared to describe the data sources and methodologies applied in the process of building the FAF5 base-year 2017 regional database, released as FAF5.0 in February 2021. This report offers a description of the diverse data sources and modeling methods used in constructing the base year FAF5 regional database. The FAF5 base-year database is used as the base for development of forecasts and for assignment of truck flows on highway network. Similarly, the FAF5 base-year database will be used as the base to generate FAF5 annual estimates. In addition to this report, users are encouraged to refer to the FAF5 User\u2019s Guide, which provides basic information of the data, including definitions of the data attributes, information on how to access the data and tool, as well as detailed data dictionary and code tables

The Two-Component Signal Transduction System CopRS of Corynebacterium glutamicum Is Required for Adaptation to Copper-Excess Stress

Copper is an essential cofactor for many enzymes but at high concentrations it is toxic for the cell. Copper ion concentrations ≥50 µM inhibited growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum. The transcriptional response to 20 µM Cu2+ was studied using DNA microarrays and revealed 20 genes that showed a ≥ 3-fold increased mRNA level, including cg3281-cg3289. Several genes in this genomic region code for proteins presumably involved in the adaption to copper-induced stress, e. g. a multicopper oxidase (CopO) and a copper-transport ATPase (CopB). In addition, this region includes the copRS genes (previously named cgtRS9) which encode a two-component signal transduction system composed of the histidine kinase CopS and the response regulator CopR. Deletion of the copRS genes increased the sensitivity of C. glutamicum towards copper ions, but not to other heavy metal ions. Using comparative transcriptome analysis of the ΔcopRS mutant and the wild type in combination with electrophoretic mobility shift assays and reporter gene studies the CopR regulon and the DNA-binding motif of CopR were identified. Evidence was obtained that CopR binds only to the intergenic region between cg3285 (copR) and cg3286 in the genome of C. glutamicum and activates expression of the divergently oriented gene clusters cg3285-cg3281 and cg3286-cg3289. Altogether, our data suggest that CopRS is the key regulatory system in C. glutamicum for the extracytoplasmic sensing of elevated copper ion concentrations and for induction of a set of genes capable of diminishing copper stress

Xenointoxication of a Rabbit for the Control of the Common Bed Bug Cimex lectularius L. Using Ivermectin

Human bed bug infestations have undergone a recent global resurgence. The human antiparasitic drug ivermectin has been proposed as a strategy to help control bed bug infestations, but in vivo data are lacking. We allowed separate populations of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., to feed once on a rabbit before and after it was injected subcutaneously with 0.3 mg/kg of ivermectin, and bed bug morbidity and mortality were recorded. Ivermectin levels in the rabbit were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Ivermectin blood levels of ∼2 ng/mL caused reductions in bed bug fecundity, and levels of >8 ng/mL caused bed bug death and long-term morbidity including reductions in refeeding, mobility, reproduction, and molting. Gut bacterial cultures from the fed bed bugs showed that ivermectin altered the bed bug gut microbiome

Qualitative study of experience of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT+) amongst Survivors' Rehabilitation Evaluation after Cancer (SURECAN) trial participants and therapists: A protocol. [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]

Background This interview study forms part of a mixed methods process evaluation of the Survivors’ Rehabilitation Evaluation after Cancer (SURECAN) trial to understand the experiences of participants (who are living with and beyond cancer) in receiving a form of acceptance and commitment therapy, and therapists providing the intervention. SURECAN is a multi-centre, pragmatic, individual participant randomised controlled trial of an intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy supplemented by support for return to meaningful work and/or physical activity (ACT+). This qualitative study addresses the ways in which participants believe they benefit from ACT+ (or not), and how the ACT+ intervention might best be implemented into routine National Health Service (NHS) care. Methods The study investigates experiences of ACT+ by different participants to understand how we can optimise the ACT+ intervention and its delivery (assuming the intervention is successful). We will conduct individual interviews with participants who have taken part in the active arm of the SURECAN trial to understand their experiences of engaging with and receiving ACT+, their perceptions of the impact of the therapy, and relevant contextual factors influencing these experiences. In particular, we will focus on comparing our interview findings between those trial participants who improved and those who failed to improve (or worsened), in terms of quality of life following ACT+. Additionally, we will conduct individual interviews with therapists who have delivered ACT+ as part of the SURECAN trial, to understand their experiences of delivering ACT+. Conclusions Consistent with other qualitative protocols, this protocol is not registered. Instead, it is shared as a means of documenting ahead of time, how we are endeavouring to understand the ways in which a newly trialled talking therapy is received by patients and therapists, and how (if successful) it might be incorporated into the NHS

Compartmentalized microbial composition, oxygen gradients and nitrogen fixation in the gut of Odontotaenius disjunctus

U radu je komparativna analiza financijskih izvještaja. Cilj rada je komparirati poslovanje poduzeća Carlsberg Croatia i Heineken Hrvatska. Oba poduzeća se bave proizvodnjom i prodajom piva. Metode koje su korištene u radu su vertikalna analiza, horizontalna analiza te analiza financijskih pokazatelja

Compartmentalized microbial composition, oxygen gradients and nitrogen fixation in the gut of Odontotaenius disjunctus.

Coarse woody debris is an important biomass pool in forest ecosystems that numerous groups of insects have evolved to take advantage of. These insects are ecologically important and represent useful natural analogs for biomass to biofuel conversion. Using a range of molecular approaches combined with microelectrode measurements of oxygen, we have characterized the gut microbiome and physiology of Odontotaenius disjunctus, a wood-feeding beetle native to the eastern United States. We hypothesized that morphological and physiological differences among gut regions would correspond to distinct microbial populations and activities. In fact, significantly different communities were found in the foregut (FG), midgut (MG)/posterior hindgut (PHG) and anterior hindgut (AHG), with Actinobacteria and Rhizobiales being more abundant toward the FG and PHG. Conversely, fermentative bacteria such as Bacteroidetes and Clostridia were more abundant in the AHG, and also the sole region where methanogenic Archaea were detected. Although each gut region possessed an anaerobic core, micron-scale profiling identified radial gradients in oxygen concentration in all regions. Nitrogen fixation was confirmed by (15)N2 incorporation, and nitrogenase gene (nifH) expression was greatest in the AHG. Phylogenetic analysis of nifH identified the most abundant transcript as related to Ni-Fe nitrogenase of a Bacteroidetes species, Paludibacter propionicigenes. Overall, we demonstrate not only a compartmentalized microbiome in this beetle digestive tract but also sharp oxygen gradients that may permit aerobic and anaerobic metabolism to occur within the same regions in close proximity. We provide evidence for the microbial fixation of N2 that is important for this beetle to subsist on woody biomass