Freshwater mussel survey prior to the Ellsworth Dam removal, Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois

This report is submitted in response to a request from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) to conduct a freshwater mussel survey in the North Fork Vermilion River (Wabash River drainage) in the vicinity of the Ellsworth Dam, Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. IDNR proposes to remove this dam, and needs updated survey data prior to the removal per the requirements of Authorization item #7 in the Ellsworth Park Dam Removal Incidental Take Authorization. Freshwater mussels were collected by hand-­‐picking and visual detection (e.g., trails, siphons, exposed shell) in the three zones (Impounded area, Construction zone, and Plunge pool). One live individual was found alive in the construction zone in three person hours, whereas 372 individuals representing ten species were found alive in the impounded area upstream of the construction in approximately 25 person-­‐hours. A total of 46 individuals representing eight species were found alive in the plunge pool in 2.25 person-­‐hours. All species collected are common inhabitants of central Illinois streams that are not listed as endangered or threatened at the state or federal level, and all live individuals were relocated to areas outside the predicted zone of influence.Prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resourcesunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Uterine Nodal expression supports maternal immunotolerance and establishment of the FOXP3+ regulatory T cell population during the preimplantation period

Pregnancy success is dependent on the establishment of maternal tolerance during the preimplantation period. The immunosuppressive function of regulatory T cells is critical to limit inflammation arising from implantation of the semi-allogeneic blastocyst. Insufficient maternal immune adaptations to pregnancy have been frequently associated with cases of female infertility and recurrent implantation failure. The role of Nodal, a secreted morphogen of the TGFβ superfamily, was recently implicated during murine pregnancy as its conditional deletion (NodalΔ/Δ) in the female reproductive tract resulted in severe subfertility. Here, it was determined that despite normal preimplantation processes and healthy, viable embryos, NodalΔ/Δ females had a 50% implantation failure rate compared to NodalloxP/loxP controls. Prior to implantation, the expression of inflammatory cytokines MCP-1, G-CSF, IFN-γ and IL-10 was dysregulated in the NodalΔ/Δ uterus. Further analysis of the preimplantation leukocyte populations in NodalΔ/Δ uteri showed an overabundance of infiltrating, pro-inflammatory CD11bhigh Ly6C+ macrophages coupled with the absence of CD4+ FOXP3+ regulatory T cells. Therefore, it is proposed that uterine Nodal expression during the preimplantation period has a novel role in the establishment of maternal immunotolerance, and its dysregulation should be considered as a potential contributor to cases of female infertility and recurrent implantation failure

Basics of collaborative research data management: Requirements for a Schleswig-Holstein state initiative on research data management

Das Papier "Grundlagen eines partnerschaftlichen Forschungsdatenmanagements - Anforderungen an eine schleswig-holsteinische Landesinitiative zum Forschungsdatenmanagement" umreißt die Anforderungen für eine schleswig-holsteinische Landesinitiative zum Forschungsdatenmanagement (FDM-SH). Hierfür wird zunächst das Umfeld, in dem eine solche Initiative entstehen und agieren soll, beschrieben. So beeinflussen sowohl die Eigenheiten der regionalen Forschungslandschaft wie auch die Entwicklungen im Bereich der Nationalen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (NFDI) die Ausprägungen von Landesinitiativen. Die speziellen Anforderungen werden durch den Vergleich mit anderen Landesinitiativen, die Analyse von spezifischen Umfrageergebnissen aus Schleswig-Holstein sowie die Berücksichtigung der Anforderungen der NFDI gesammelt. Der Ansatz des partnerschaftlichen Forschungsdatenmanagements (FDM) spiegelt das Anliegen Schleswig-Holsteins wider, die Herausforderungen für ein zeitgemäßes FDM vor Ort gemeinsam zu bewältigen und dabei sowohl Know-how zu teilen als auch Ressourcen zu schonen

Vom klassischen OPAC zum modernen Rechercheportal : Ansätze zur Einführung eines Discovery Systems an der ZHB Lübeck

Discovery Systeme basieren auf moderner Suchmaschinentechnologie und verbinden diese mit elektronischen bibliothekarischen Rechercheinstrumenten, wie z.B. den OPAC oder Fachdatenbanken. Sie werden bereits in zahlreichen Bibliotheken verwendet und sollen künftig auch an der ZHB Lübeck zum Einsatz kommen. In dieser Arbeit werden Ansätze zur Einrichtung eines Discovery Systems verfolgt. Zunächst wird dabei auf die Entwicklungen von bibliothekarischen und internetbasierten Rechercheinstrumenten sowie angrenzenden Themenbereichen grundlegend eingegangen. Es folgt eine Marktsichtung, die neben kommerziellen Resource Discovery Systemen auch Open-Source-Lösungen betrachtet und die Erfahrungen von Bibliotheken anhand von Literaturquellen miteinbezieht. Auf Basis der hier zu Grunde liegenden Ausführungen werden die Möglichkeiten der ZHB Lübeck zur Einführung eines Discovery Systems dargelegt. Diskussion und Ausblick runden die Ergebnisse ab

How green is the market? : creating a tool to evaluate the success of the new generation of “green” residential Greenfield development

textAs the population of the United States continues to grow as projected, it is clear that the need for new homes will grow with it. At the same time, there is increasing dissatisfaction with conventional sprawling suburban development. In response to this dissatisfaction, new types of alternative or “green” Greenfield developments are appearing all over the country. What these developments have in common is that they all strive to be better than conventional suburban development; better places to live that are also better for the environment. This report compiles a database of these different developments and their characteristics. Next, it examines if these “green” residential developments are in fact a success in the marketplace. To do this it looks at conventional and innovative real estate evaluation methods. A new evaluation tool that can be used to evaluate the market acceptance of the new generation of “green” Greenfield development is then proposed. Finally, the need for further study including the creation of an evaluation tool to measure the environmental “success” of these projects is examined.Community and Regional Plannin

Freshwater mussel survey in the Saline Branch in Busey Woods / Crystal Lake Park, Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois

This report is submitted in response to a request from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) to conduct a freshwater mussel survey in the Saline Branch (Salt Fork Vermilion River drainage) in Busey Woods / Crystal Lake Park, Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois. IDNR proposes to install instream riffles as compensation for a 2002 ammonia release and fish kill in the Saline Branch. The mussel survey will provide updated survey data prior to their restoration effort. Freshwater mussels were collected by hand-­‐picking along an approximate 1,100-­‐yard stretch of stream for 7 person-­‐hours on 14 August 2014. Only one live individual was found [Fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea)] during the survey. Two additional species [Cylindrical Papershell (Anodontoides ferussacianus) and White Heelsplitter (Lasmigona complanata)] were collected only as fresh-­‐dead and one other [Plain Pocketbook (Lampsilis cardium)] was collected only as relict. No native freshwater mussels collected are listed at the state or federal level. Based upon the Mussel Classification Index (Szafoni, 2001), the mussel resource in the Saline Branch at Busey Woods / Crystal Lake Park is classified as Restricted – only three species were considered extant with no rare or listed species being found, CPUE was <1 individuals per hour, no recruitment was evident. We feel the Saline Branch lacks a significant mussel resource, and hesitate to speculate what effect, if any, the proposed artificial riffles will have on the recruitment of freshwater mussels to the Saline Branch at Busey Woods / Crystal Lake Park.Illinois Department of Natural Resources Natural Resources Damage Assessment, Restoration, and Implementationunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Regional biogeography versus intra-annual dynamics of the root and soil microbiome

Background: Root and soil microbial communities constitute the below-ground plant microbiome, are drivers of nutrient cycling, and affect plant productivity. However, our understanding of their spatiotemporal patterns is confounded by exogenous factors that covary spatially, such as changes in host plant species, climate, and edaphic factors. These spatiotemporal patterns likely differ across microbiome domains (bacteria and fungi) and niches (root vs. soil). Results: To capture spatial patterns at a regional scale, we sampled the below-ground microbiome of switchgrass monocultures of five sites spanning &amp;amp;amp;#x003E; 3 degrees of latitude within the Great Lakes region. To capture temporal patterns, we sampled the below-ground microbiome across the growing season within a single site. We compared the strength of spatiotemporal factors to nitrogen addition determining the major drivers in our perennial cropping system. All microbial communities were most strongly structured by sampling site, though collection date also had strong effects; in contrast, nitrogen addition had little to no effect on communities. Though all microbial communities were found to have significant spatiotemporal patterns, sampling site and collection date better explained bacterial than fungal community structure, which appeared more defined by stochastic processes. Root communities, especially bacterial, were more temporally structured than soil communities which were more spatially structured, both across and within sampling sites. Finally, we characterized a core set of taxa in the switchgrass microbiome that persists across space and time. These core taxa represented &amp;amp;amp;#x003C; 6% of total species richness but &amp;amp;amp;#x003E; 27% of relative abundance, with potential nitrogen fixing bacteria and fungal mutualists dominating the root community and saprotrophs dominating the soil community. Conclusions: Our results highlight the dynamic variability of plant microbiome composition and assembly across space and time, even within a single variety of a plant species. Root and soil fungal community compositions appeared spatiotemporally paired, while root and soil bacterial communities showed a temporal lag in compositional similarity suggesting active recruitment of soil bacteria into the root niche throughout the growing season. A better understanding of the drivers of these differential responses to space and time may improve our ability to predict microbial community structure and function under novel conditions

Ansatz für ein partnerschaftliches Forschungsdatenmanagement: Konzept für eine schleswig-holsteinische Landesinitiative zum Forschungsdatenmanagement

Das Papier „Ansatz für ein partnerschaftliches Forschungsdatenmanagement – Konzept für eine schleswig-holsteinische Landesinitiative zum Forschungsdatenmanagement“ stellt Aufgaben, Arbeitsweise, Organisation sowie Zuständigkeiten für die schleswig-holsteinische Landesinitiative zum Forschungsdatenmanagement FDM-SH vor