53 research outputs found
Leaf Detritus Processing in an Ozark Cave Stream
Detritus processing rates and mechanisms were investigated in an Ozark cave stream using post oak (Quercus stellata) leaf packs. The 5 g leaf packs lost ca. 30% of their dry weight within 84 days, resulting in a calculated K value of 0.05. This was an unexpectedly high rate of utilization. Diversity of invertebrates associated with the leaf packs was very low. Stygobromus ozarkensis (Amphipoda) was the only shredder. The two isopods, Caecidotea stiladactyla and Lirceus sp. were the only collectors observed other than a single species of oligochaete worm. Our data indicated that leaf detritus processing rates are virtually independent of the number of types of invertebrates associated with the leaf packs
Hidden dependence of spreading vulnerability on topological complexity
Many dynamical phenomena in complex systems concern spreading that plays out
on top of networks with changing architecture over time -- commonly known as
temporal networks. A complex system's proneness to facilitate spreading
phenomena, which we abbreviate as its `spreading vulnerability', is often
surmised to be related to the topology of the temporal network featured by the
system. Yet, cleanly extracting spreading vulnerability of a complex system
directly from the topological information of the temporal network remains a
challenge. Here, using data from a diverse set of real-world complex systems,
we develop the `entropy of temporal entanglement' as a novel and insightful
quantity to measure topological complexities of temporal networks. We show that
this parameter-free quantity naturally allows for topological comparisons
across vastly different complex systems. Importantly, by simulating three
different types of stochastic dynamical processes playing out on top of
temporal networks, we demonstrate that the entropy of temporal entanglement
serves as a quantitative embodiment of the systems' spreading vulnerability,
irrespective of the details of the processes. In being able to do so, i.e., in
being able to quantitatively extract a complex system's proneness to facilitate
spreading phenomena from topology, this entropic measure opens itself for
applications in a wide variety of natural, social, biological and engineered
systems.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Effects of Acute Stress on Psychophysiology in Armed Tactical Occupations: A Narrative Review
The ability to perform under extreme pressure is one of the most sought-after qualities in both sports and tactical (military, law enforcement, fire, and rescue, etc.) occupations. While tactical performance relies on both physical and mental capabilities to achieve a desired outcome, it is often hampered by the stressful environments in which these personnel work. The acute stress experienced by tactical personnel can interfere with occupational performance, impacting both physical execution of tasks and decision-making. This narrative review discusses the implications of acute stress on the psychophysiology and physical performance of personnel serving in armed tactical occupations
Associations of Lifestyle Factors, Disease History and Awareness with Health-Related Quality of Life in a Thai Population
10.1371/journal.pone.0049921PLoS ONE711
Multimodal population brain imaging in the UK Biobank prospective epidemiological study
Medical imaging has enormous potential for early disease prediction, but is impeded by the difficulty and expense of acquiring data sets before symptom onset. UK Biobank aims to address this problem directly by acquiring high-quality, consistently acquired imaging data from 100,000 predominantly healthy participants, with health outcomes being tracked over the coming decades. The brain imaging includes structural, diffusion and functional modalities. Along with body and cardiac imaging, genetics, lifestyle measures, biological phenotyping and health records, this imaging is expected to enable discovery of imaging markers of a broad range of diseases at their earliest stages, as well as provide unique insight into disease mechanisms. We describe UK Biobank brain imaging and present results derived from the first 5,000 participants' data release. Although this covers just 5% of the ultimate cohort, it has already yielded a rich range of associations between brain imaging and other measures collected by UK Biobank
Plasma–liquid interactions: a review and roadmap
Plasma–liquid interactions represent a growing interdisciplinary area of research involving plasma science, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, photolysis, multiphase chemistry and aerosol science. This review provides an assessment of the state-of-the-art of this multidisciplinary area and identifies the key research challenges. The developments in diagnostics, modeling and further extensions of cross section and reaction rate databases that are necessary to address these challenges are discussed. The review focusses on non-equilibrium plasmas
Crosstalk between reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory markers in developing various chronic diseases: a review
The inflammation process in the human body plays a central role in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) exert potentially a decisive role in human body, particularly in physiological and pathological process. The chronic inflammation state could generate several types of diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and arthritis, especially if it is concomitant with high levels of pro-inflammatory markers and ROS. The respiratory burst of inflammatory cells during inflammation increases the production and accumulation of ROS. However, ROS regulate various types of kinases and transcription factors such nuclear factor-kappa B which is related to the activation of pro-inflammatory genes. The exact crosstalk between pro-inflammatory markers and ROS in terms of pathogenesis and development of serious diseases is still ambitious. Many studies have been attempting to determine the mechanistic mutual relationship between ROS and pro-inflammatory markers. Therefore hereby, we review the hypothetical relationship between ROS and pro-inflammatory markers in which they have been proposed to initiate cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and arthritis
Cerebral activation is correlated to regional atrophy og the spinal cord and funtional motor disability in spinal cord injured individuals
Environmental Factors Influencing Reproduction in a Temperate Marine Reef Goby, Rhinogobiops nicholsii
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