Characterization of Pinus ectomycorrhizas from mixed conifer and pygmy forests using morphotyping and molecular methods

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Recess Policy in Chicago Public Schools: 1855-2006

The history of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) recess policy has been marked by long periods of consistency. However, in the last two decades the history of recess policy has changed significantly. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the Board of Education required one to two recess sessions per day in primary or elementary schools. This is in stark contrast to the 1991 policy which eliminated recess entirely for seven years. In 1998 there was another policy shift which is still in effect today. This policy allows individual principals and their local school councils to determine how to allocate their daily schedule. Therefore, each school has the opportunity to choose whether or not to schedule recess into their already full day. Currently, only one-third of CPS schools allow time for recess. Unfortunately, many students are missing out on having recess as a part of their day. This work will seek to illuminate the history of CPS\u27s recess policy as well as find the reasons behind the drastic policy shifts

Litter removal in a tropical rain forest reduces fine root biomass and production but litter addition has few effects.

Many old-growth lowland tropical rain forests are potentially nutrient limited, and it has long been thought that many such forests maintain growth by recycling nutrients from decomposing litter. We investigated this by continuously removing (for 10 yr) freshly fallen litter from five (45 m × 45 m) plots, adding it to five other plots, there were five controls. From monthly measures over 1 yr we show that litter removal caused lower: fine root (≤2 mm diameter) standing mass, fine root standing length, fine root length production and fine root length survivorship. Litter addition did not significantly change fine root mass or length or production. Nutrient concentrations in fine roots in litter removal plots were lower than those in controls for nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), concentrations in fine roots in litter addition plots were higher for N and Ca. Chronic litter removal has resulted in reduced forest growth due to lack of nutrients, probably nitrogen. Conversely, long-term litter addition has had fewer effects

Integrating Western and non-Western cultural expressions to further cultural and creative tourism: a case study

The term cultural industries was coined more than half a century ago, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the broader concept of creative industries, covering a wide range of cultural, design and digital activity, captured the imagination of public policymakers at national and city levels. Paralleling these developments has been the recognition of the phenomenon of cultural tourism and, more recently, the emergence of the idea of creative tourism, that is, tourism programmes designed to engage tourists actively in cultural activity. This paper presents a case study of a creative tourism event which took place in 2012 in the City of Manchester in the UK. The festival, which celebrated West African culture, utilised existing cultural institutions of the city and drew on the talents of local and visiting members of West African community to engage not only tourists but also indigenous and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) residents of Manchester in a variety of cultural activities. It thus used the focus of creative tourism to seek to foster community and cultural development as well as tourism

Understorey plant community composition reflects its invasion history decades after invasive Rhododendron ponticum has been removed

This research was funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, project reference 014299. We would additionally like to thank all the landowners who provided access to their land for this study.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Seed limitation, not soil legacy effects, prevents native understory from establishing in oak woodlands in Scotland after removal of Rhododendron ponticum

We thank Scottish Natural Heritage for funding this work via a PhD studentship to JM. The National Trust for Scotland provided the field site and fenced the experiment. In particular we thank Kate Sampson and Lindsay Mackinlay at NTS staff for their assistance in establishing this experiment. RJM and RJP were funded through the 2011-2016 and 2016-2021 Strategic Research Programmes of the Scottish Government.Peer reviewedPostprin

Conversion of daily pegvisomant to weekly pegvisomant combined with long-acting somatostatin analogs, in controlled acromegaly patients

The efficacy of combined treatment in active acromegaly with both long-acting somatostatin analogs (SRIF) and pegvisomant (PEG-V) has been well established. The aim was to describe the PEG-V dose reductions after the conversion from daily PEG-V to combination treatment. To clarify the individual beneficial and adverse effects, in two acromegaly patients, who only normalized their insulin like growth factor (IGF-I) levels with high-dose pegvisomant therapy. We present two cases of a 31 and 44 years old male with gigantism and acromegaly that were controlled subsequently by surgery, radiotherapy, SRIF analogs and daily PEG-V treatment. They were converted to combined treatment of monthly SSA and (twice) weekly PEG-V. High dose SSA treatment was added while the PEG-V dose was decreased during carful monitoring of the IGF-I. After switching from PEG-V monotherapy to SRIF analogs plus pegvisomant combination therapy IGF-I remained normal. However, the necessary PEG-V dose, to normalize IGF-I differed significantly between these two patients. One patient needed twice weekly 100 mg, the second needed 60 mg once weekly on top of their monthly lanreotide Autosolution injections of 120 mg. The weekly dose reduction was 80 and 150 mg. After the introducing of lanreotide, fasting glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin concentrations increased. Diabetic medication had to be introduced or increased. No changes in liver tests or in pituitary adenoma size were observed. In these two patients, PEG-V in combination with long-acting SRIF analogs was as effective as PEG-V monotherapy in normalizing IGF-I levels, although significant dose-reductions in PEG-V could be achieved. However, there seems to be a wide variation in the reduction of PEG-V dose, which can be obtained after conversion to combined treatment

Tropical carbon sink accelerated by symbiotic dinitrogen fixation

A major uncertainty in the land carbon cycle is whether symbiotic nitrogen fixation acts to enhance the tropical forest carbon sink. Nitrogen-fixing trees can supply vital quantities of the growth-limiting nutrient nitrogen, but the extent to which the resulting carbon–nitrogen feedback safeguards ecosystem carbon sequestration remains unclear. We combine (i) field observations from 112 plots spanning 300 years of succession in Panamanian tropical forests, and (ii) a new model that resolves nitrogen and light competition at the scale of individual trees. Fixation doubled carbon accumulation in early succession and enhanced total carbon in mature forests by ~10% (~12MgC ha−1) through two mechanisms: (i) a direct fixation effect on tree growth, and (ii) an indirect effect on the successional sequence of non-fixing trees. We estimate that including nitrogen-fixing trees in Neotropical reforestation projects could safeguard the sequestration of 6.7 Gt CO2 over the next 20 years. Our results highlight the connection between functional diversity of plant communities and the critical ecosystem service of carbon sequestration for mitigating climate change