The Prairie State: Using Ecological Niche Modeling to Predict Distributions of Early Land Plants

Bryophytes are environmentally and ecologically significant biological indicators, as their distribution is largely determined by the climate and the land features that shape these factors. Yet it is a challenge to track the ranges of these plants and even more so to predict their future distribution patterns due to their small size and sensitivity to environmental change. This study aims to model the potential distribution of selected bryophyte species in Illinois to investigate the potential impact of global warming and determine what environmental factors affect distribution patterns. Bryophyte occurrences post 1970 of some of the most common epiphytic species and genera were investigated. Over 12,000 georeferenced occurrence records were downloaded from a public biodiversity aggregator, cleaned, and validated. The environmental variables consisted of the WorldClim Bioclim variables and National Land Cover Database land use variables at approximately 1 km2 resolution. The occurrences and environmental variables were run through a MaxEnt model in R to generate heat maps of potential distribution. Statistical evaluation metrics and validation techniques were used to test model accuracy. Overall, current species models showed a higher level of confidence than the genera models, and all models were primarily reliant on the land use variables over the climate variables. Future models only showed consistent distribution changes across all three climate scenarios, suggesting the selected taxa could be valuable indicators. Attempting to quantify bryophyte-environment relationships and ecological niche modeling potentially provides a means of predicting how bryophytes might respond to environmental changes over time. Using such techniques enables us to test for significant differences in the characterization of niches between taxa. Successful models will represent real world distributions accurately, not only show support for utilizing bryophytes as climate change indicators, but also for this open-source methodology in the niche modeling for other organisms. Overall, these results will have important implications for species distribution patterns, conservation, land management and our understanding of ecological niche modeling using a poorly studied and overlooked group of plants

Optimal monitoring of coral biodiversity at Christmas Island

Abstract. Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world and are increasingly at risk due to a range of threats. Detailed species-level data is essential in developing effective management strategies for the conservation of coral reef biodiversity. For hard corals, this critical information is rarely available due to the high degree of expertise, time and costs involved in collecting species-level data, hence, the development of proxy metrics which accurately and reliably reflect coral species richness are imperative. At Christmas Island, in the north-easternIndian Ocean, little species-level baseline data is available to inform managers regarding spatial (or temporal) variations of coral diversity. Here we examine the ability of four proxy metrics to reflect patterns in hard coral species richness, compared across depth gradients at eight sites around Christmas Island using regression analysis. Generic richness measured on a belt transect was the strongest explanatory variable for species richness (68–88% variation explained) regardless of the scale of analysis. Percent live hard coral cover has traditionally been used to assess and monitor coral reef health; however, our results suggest that it is not related to coral species richness asa significant linear function. Overall, at Christmas Island, monitoring generic richness on replicated belt transects offers the simplest and most robust proxy metric for estimating species richness

The Baby Box Scheme in Scotland : A Study of Public Attitudes and Social Value

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are very grateful to NHS Grampian Endowments Fund for supporting our study and to focus group participants for sharing their experiences generously and candidly. This study was supported by NHS Grampian Endowments Fund (project number RG15059‐10: 18/06: Title: Baby Boxes and Parental Capabilities: Developing a Measure of Social Benefit).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

TOK channels use the two gates in classical K⁺ channels to achieve outward rectification

TOKs are outwardly rectifying K+ channels in fungi with two pore-loops and eight transmembrane spans. Here, we describe the TOKs from four pathogens that cause the majority of life-threatening fungal infections in humans. These TOKs pass large currents only in the outward direction like the canonical isolate from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScTOK), and distinct from other K+ channels. ScTOK, AfTOK1 (Aspergillus fumigatus), and H99TOK (Cryptococcus neoformans grubii) are K+ -selective and pass current above the K+ reversal potential. CaTOK (Candida albicans) and CnTOK (Cryptococcus neoformans neoformans) pass both K+ and Na+ and conduct above a reversal potential reflecting the mixed permeability of their selectivity filter. Mutations in CaTOK and ScTOK at sites homologous to those that open the internal gates in classical K+ channels are shown to produce inward TOK currents. A favored model for outward rectification is proposed whereby the reversal potential determines ion occupancy, and thus, conductivity, of the selectivity filter gate that is coupled to an imperfectly restrictive internal gate, permitting the filter to sample ion concentrations on both sides of the membrane

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Reasoner: PNNL FY12 Report

Building on previous internal investments and leveraging ongoing advancements in semantic technologies, PNNL implemented a formal reasoning framework and applied it to a specific challenge in nuclear nonproliferation. The Semantic Nonproliferation Analysis Platform (SNAP) was developed as a preliminary graphical user interface to demonstrate the potential power of the underlying semantic technologies to analyze and explore facts and relationships relating to the nuclear fuel cycle (NFC). In developing this proof of concept prototype, the utility and relevancy of semantic technologies to the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D) has been better understood

Behavioural inhibition and early neural processing of happy and angry faces interact to predict anxiety: a longitudinal ERP study

Limited prospective research has examined whether attention biases to emotion moderate associations between Behavioural Inhibition (BI) and anxiety in preschool-aged children. Furthermore, there has been an over-reliance on behavioral measures in previous studies. Accordingly, we assessed anxiety in a sample of preschool-aged children (3–4 years) at baseline, and again approximately 6 and 11 months later, after they started school. At baseline, children completed an assessment of BI and an EEG task where they were presented with angry, happy, and neutral faces. EEG analyses focused on ERPs (P1, P2, N2) associated with specific stages of attention allocation. Interactions between BI and emotion bias (ERP amplitude for emotional versus neutral faces) were found for N2 and P1. For N2, BI was significantly associated with higher overall anxiety when an angry bias was present. Interestingly for P1, BI was associated with higher overall anxiety when a happy bias was absent. Finally, interactions were found between linear time and happy and angry bias for P1, with a greater linear decrease in anxiety over time when biases were high. These results suggest that attention to emotional stimuli moderates the BI-anxiety relationship across early development

A New Look at Aubrites: Investigating 3D Modal Mineralogy with X-Ray Computed Tomography

The aubrites (approximately 30 known meteorites) are a unique group of differentiated meteorites that formed on asteroids with oxygen fugacities (O2) from approximately 2 to approximately 6 log units below the iron-wustite buffer. At these highly reduced conditions, elements deviate from the geochemical behavior exhibited at terrestrial O2, forming FeO-poor silicates and exotic sulfides. While previous studies have described the petrology and 2D modal abundances of aubrites, this work investigates the 3D modal mineralogies of silicate, metal, and sulfide phases in aubrite samples, which are then compared to the available 2D data. In addition to 3D modal mineralogies, we have examined the geochemistry of fourteen aubrites, including mineral major-element compositions, bulk-rock compositions, and oxygen isotopic compositions to understand their formation and evolution at extreme O2 conditions. We utilize X-ray computed tomography (XCT) to non-destructively analyze the distribution and abundances of mineral phases in aubrites and locate composite clasts of sulfide grains for future analytical study. In order to better constrain elemental behavior under reduced conditions, we specifically target minerals phases that comprise moderately volatile elements (i.e. oldhamite [CaS], caswellsilverite [NaCrS2] and djerfisherite [K6Na(Fe,Cu,Ni)25S26Cl]) as it has been shown that their geochemical behavior changes as a function of O2. Currently, we have produced 3D scans of the Norton County aubrite. The results of the XCT data have allowed for the determination of the abundances of silicate groundmass (i.e., enstatite, forsterite, albite, and diopside), light (based on electron density) sulfides (i.e. alabandite [MnS] and daubrelite [FeCr2S4]), heavy (based on electron density) sulfides (i.e., troilite [FeS]), and Fe,Ni metal by segmenting a density histogram in Volume Graphics Studio software. XCT scans of additional aubrites are underway. By combining the 3D representation of the exotic phases found in aubrites with existing 2D characterizations, we are able to better determine modal abundances. By integrating 3D and 2D modal abundances and geochemistry, we can ultimately better constrain aubrite petrogenesis and elemental partitioning under reduced conditions. Furthermore, application of this new 3D approach offers the opportunity to identify and select clasts for future study prior to cutting the sample, which will minimize sample loss of this precious material

Physical Activity Behavior in Persons with Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurological disorder affecting the musculoskeletal function, respiratory function, and laryngeal function. Despite these dysfunctions, persons with PD (PwPD)are still able to positively adapt to exercise training. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate changes in physical activity (PA) in PwPD that participate in a long-term boxing training program designed for PwPD. This is a 1-month, preliminary analysis of a larger 12-month longitudinal pilot study. METHODS: Each participant (n=6) will complete a total of 104, 1-hour boxing training session, over the course of 12 months. Prior to participation in the training program and at five timepoints during training (1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months), participants will complete a self-report survey related to PA behavior (International Physical Activity Questionnaire; IPAQ). This preliminary report is a description of PA changes between baseline and 1-month of intervention. RESULTS: One participant had to discontinue participation in the boxing program so results are based on n=5. Vigorous intensity PA activity increased in 2 participants and decreased in 3 participants resulting in an average of -19 minutes of vigorous PA/person/week. Moderate intensity PA activity increased in 3 participants and decreased in 2 participants resulting in an average of +28 minutes of moderate intensity PA/person/week. Walking time increased in 3 participants and decreased in 2 participants resulting in +14 minutes of walking time/person/week. Sitting time increased in 2 participants and decreased in 3 participants resulting in -25 minutes of sitting time/person/week. CONCLUSION: While data collection for this study is preliminary, promising trends of improved PA behavior (increased PA minutes and decreased sitting minutes) are encouraging. If trends of improved PA behavior are realized over the entirety of this study (12 months), we expect to see other positive neurological outcomes that are also being analyzed in these study participants

Fracture risk and impact in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A retrospective cohort study

Introduction/Aims: Boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are at increased risk of fracture. This study investigated the incidence of fractures, factors contributing to risk of first fracture with emphasis on body mass index (BMI), and the impact of fractures on functional capacity in an Australian cohort of boys with DMD. Methods: A retrospective cohort study included boys with DMD who attended a pediatric neuromuscular clinic from 2011 to 2018. Information regarding fractures, anthropometry measurements, body composition and functional assessment was collected. Factors associated with first fracture risk were analyzed with Cox-proportional hazards. Longitudinal analysis of function post-fracture was also conducted. Results: This study included 155 boys with DMD. At least one fracture occurred in 71 (45%) boys; overall incidence of fractures was 399-per-10,000 persons-years. The first fracture was vertebral in 55%; 41% had non-vertebral fractures and 4% had both. Vertebral fractures occurred in significantly older (12.28 vs 9.28 y) boys with longer exposure to glucocorticoids (5.45 vs 2.50 y) compared to non-vertebral fractures. Boys with a history of fracture(s) had a steeper rate of functional decline (measured by Northstar Ambulatory Assessment score) than those with no recorded fractures. Discussion: A high fracture burden was observed in a large Australian cohort of boys with DMD. Further investigation is required to understand preventative strategies and modifiable risk factors to reduce the incidence of fractures in DMD. The impact on fractures on ambulatory capacity should be closely monitored