Bucking the trend: the diversity of Anthropocene ‘winners’ among British moths

An appreciation of how some species are becoming more common despite unprecedented anthropogenic pressures could offer key insights for mitigating the global biodiversity crisis.  Research to date has largely focused on declining species, while species that are becoming more common have received relatively little attention. Macro-moths in Great Britain are well-studied and species-rich, making them an ideal group for addressing this knowledge gap. Here, we examine changes in 51 successful species between 1968 and 2016 using 4.5 million occurrence records and a systematic monitoring dataset. We employ 3D graphical analysis to visualise long-term multidimensional trends in prevalence (abundance and range) and use vector autoregression models to test whether past values of local abundance are useful for predicting changes in the extent of occurrence. The responses of Anthropocene winners are heterogeneous, suggesting multiple drivers are responsible. Changes in range and local abundance frequently occur intermittently through time, demonstrating the value of long-term, continuous monitoring. There is significant diversity among the winners themselves, which include widespread generalists, habitat specialists, and recent colonists. We offer brief discussion of possible causal factors and the wider ecosystem implications of these trends

The mechanism of formation of 8,8-dimethyl[4.2.1.0 3,7]nonan-6-yl acetate (fortesyl acetate) during acetolysis of nopyl toluene-psulfonate

Attempts to prepare 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-6,6-dimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]hept-2-ene (nopol; 1) labelled with deuterium at C-10 by a process of oxidation of the primary alcohol group of nopol to the aldehyde, followed by H/D exchange and reduction back to alcohol, were unsuccessful because various oxidation procedures, including reaction with N-chlorosuccinimide at 278 8C, gave instead a carboxylic acid having an oxygen at C-3. Nopol, labelled at C-11 with deuterium, was obtained through a Prins reaction of b-pinene with deuteriated paraformaldehyde. This labelled nopol was converted into its toluene-p-sulfonate ester, and was solvolysed in acetic acid containing acetate ion to give 8,8-dimethyltricyclo[4.2.1.03,7]nonan-6-yl acetate, which is an earlier reported novel fused ring system (fortesyl acetate; 2 acetate). The position of the label in the product showed that the mechanism of this deep-seated carbon skeletal rearrangement proceeds through the intermediate formation of a cyclobutane ring, followed by shift of a methylene bridge to expand the original cyclobutane ring and then subsequent expansion of the new cyclobutane ring. Calculations of heats of formation of possible ions involved in these shifts confirm the proposed mechanism as the most likely pathway.Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica. Kuwait. Eschenmoser Trust UK

Habitat fragmentation and the species- area relationship: a focus on total species richness obscures the impact of habitat loss on habitat specialists

ABSTRACT Aim The species-area relationship (SAR) is widely used in conservation science to predict the number of species likely to go extinct as a result of habitat loss. Often, studies employing the SAR use total species richness as the dependent variable. However, this overlooks the fact that habitat specialists and generalists differ in their susceptibility to habitat loss. We undertook a synthetic review of 23 habitat island datasets for birds to determine the impact of habitat generalists on the SAR. Location Global. Methods We sourced 19 habitat island datasets from the literature and combined these data with four of our own empirically gathered datasets. For each dataset, we classified all bird species as either forest habitat specialists or generalists. We then fitted the power SAR model (log-log and nonlinear forms) to the specialists, generalists and all species for each dataset and compared the resulting model parameters. We compared differences in the rate of change in richness with area between specialists and generalists using the first derivative of a multimodel SAR. Results We found that the slope of the power model was steeper for habitat specialists in the majority of datasets, and this difference was significant in 15 and 16 of the 23 datasets, for the nonlinear and log-log forms of the power model, respectively. Comparison of the multimodel SAR curve derivatives revealed further differences in the rate of change in species richness with area between subsets. Main conclusions The z values of both forms of the power model of the specialists' SARs were generally larger, often considerably so, than the values used in most SAR studies predicting extinctions from habitat loss. Thus, studies that have used z values derived from SAR studies using total richness may be underestimating the impact of habitat loss on specialist species, which are likely to be those of greatest conservation concern

The Ursinus Weekly, November 4, 1976

Ursinus news in brief: S.F.A.R.C. approves letter; Ursinus to install new President; Schwalm invites students; Temple U. presents Brecht • Alarms, finance discussed • U.S.G.A. meets • Law professionals hosted • Comment: Why more trees? • Plant talk • Letter to the editor: Rules blasted • Photo concert • Bause files for patent • Marathon man • Harriers win one of three • Widener rips Bears • Hockey wins continue • Soccer loses twohttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1061/thumbnail.jp

European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer consensus recommendations for the treatment of mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome - Update 2017

In order to provide a common standard for the treatment of mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary syndrome (SS), the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Cutaneous Lymphoma Task Force (EORTC-CLTF) published in 2006 its consensus recommendations for the stage-adapted selection of management options for these neoplasms. Since then, the understanding of the pathophysiology and epidemiology of MF/SS has advanced, the staging system has been revised, new outcome data have been published and novel treatment options have been introduced. The purpose of the present document is to update the original recommendations bearing in mind that there are still only a limited number of controlled studies to support treatment decisions for MF/SS and that often treatment is determined by institutional experience and availability. This consensus on treatment recommendations was established among the authors through a series of consecutive consultations in writing and a round of discussion. Recommended treatment options are presented according to disease stage, whenever possible categorised into first-and second-line options and supported with levels of evidence as devised by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM). Skin-directed therapies are still the most appropriate option for early-stage MF, and most patients can look forward to a normal life expectancy. For patients with advanced disease, prognosis is still grim, and only for a highly selected subset of patients, prolonged survival can be achieved with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). There is a high need for the development and investigation in controlled clinical trials of treatment options that are based on our increasing understanding of the molecular pathology of MF/SS. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

New Techniques for Composite Wing Manufacture

This report addresses the construction of carbon fibre wing boxes and the problems as- sociated with using carbon fibre sheets rather than individual carbon fibre tapes. In the case that the wing boxes are developable surfaces the lay up of carbon fibre sheets is straightforward, since the fibres can follow the contours of the surface without any need for shearing or extension of the fibres. To further expand the potential design space for the wing boxes, this report investigates the lay up of sheets over non-developable surfaces where some shearing of the sheet is required to achieve the desired results. In this report, three analytical approaches are considered, driven by the results from numerical studies on different surface geometries. Each of the approaches offers insights as to the type of geometric perturbations achievable when constrained by a maximum shear angle

Semiclassical Mechanics of the Wigner 6j-Symbol

The semiclassical mechanics of the Wigner 6j-symbol is examined from the standpoint of WKB theory for multidimensional, integrable systems, to explore the geometrical issues surrounding the Ponzano-Regge formula. The relations among the methods of Roberts and others for deriving the Ponzano-Regge formula are discussed, and a new approach, based on the recoupling of four angular momenta, is presented. A generalization of the Yutsis-type of spin network is developed for this purpose. Special attention is devoted to symplectic reduction, the reduced phase space of the 6j-symbol (the 2-sphere of Kapovich and Millson), and the reduction of Poisson bracket expressions for semiclassical amplitudes. General principles for the semiclassical study of arbitrary spin networks are laid down; some of these were used in our recent derivation of the asymptotic formula for the Wigner 9j-symbol.Comment: 64 pages, 50 figure

Status and prospects for renewable energy using wood pellets from the southeastern United States

The ongoing debate about costs and benefits of wood-pellet based bioenergy production in the southeastern United States (SE USA) requires an understanding of the science and context influencing market decisions associated with its sustainability. Production of pellets has garnered much attention as US exports have grown from negligible amounts in the early 2000s to 4.6 million metric tonnes in 2015. Currently, 98% of these pellet exports are shipped to Europe to displace coal in power plants. We ask, ‘How is the production of wood pellets in the SE USA affecting forest systems and the ecosystem services they provide?’ To address this question, we review current forest conditions and the status of the wood products industry, how pellet production affects ecosystem services and biodiversity, and what methods are in place to monitor changes and protect vulnerable systems. Scientific studies provide evidence that wood pellets in the SE USA are a fraction of total forestry operations and can be produced while maintaining or improving forest ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are protected by the requirement to utilize loggers trained to apply scientifically based best management practices in planning and implementing harvest for the export market. Bioenergy markets supplement incomes to private rural landholders and provide an incentive for forest management practices that simultaneously benefit water quality and wildlife and reduce risk of fire and insect outbreaks. Bioenergy also increases the value of forest land to landowners, thereby decreasing likelihood of conversion to nonforest uses. Monitoring and evaluation are essential to verify that regulations and good practices are achieving goals and to enable timely responses if problems arise. Conducting rigorous research to understand how conditions change in response to management choices requires baseline data, monitoring, and appropriate reference scenarios. Long-term monitoring data on forest conditions should be publicly accessible and utilized to inform adaptive management

Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a common disease of the central nervous system in which the interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typically results in intermittent neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are primarily responsible for the substantially increased frequency of the disease seen in the relatives of affected individuals, and systematic attempts to identify linkage in multiplex families have confirmed that variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exerts the greatest individual effect on risk. Modestly powered genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enabled more than 20 additional risk loci to be identified and have shown that multiple variants exerting modest individual effects have a key role in disease susceptibility. Most of the genetic architecture underlying susceptibility to the disease remains to be defined and is anticipated to require the analysis of sample sizes that are beyond the numbers currently available to individual research groups. In a collaborative GWAS involving 9,772 cases of European descent collected by 23 research groups working in 15 different countries, we have replicated almost all of the previously suggested associations and identified at least a further 29 novel susceptibility loci. Within the MHC we have refined the identity of the HLA-DRB1 risk alleles and confirmed that variation in the HLA-A gene underlies the independent protective effect attributable to the class I region. Immunologically relevant genes are significantly overrepresented among those mapping close to the identified loci and particularly implicate T-helper-cell differentiation in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Formalising recall by genotype as an efficient approach to detailed phenotyping and causal inference.

Detailed phenotyping is required to deepen our understanding of the biological mechanisms behind genetic associations. In addition, the impact of potentially modifiable risk factors on disease requires analytical frameworks that allow causal inference. Here, we discuss the characteristics of Recall-by-Genotype (RbG) as a study design aimed at addressing both these needs. We describe two broad scenarios for the application of RbG: studies using single variants and those using multiple variants. We consider the efficacy and practicality of the RbG approach, provide a catalogue of UK-based resources for such studies and present an online RbG study planner