Predicting avian distributions to evaluate spatiotemporal overlap with locust control operations in eastern Australia

Locusts and grasshoppers cause considerable economic damage to agriculture worldwide. The Australian Plague Locust Commission uses multiple pesticides to control locusts in eastern Australia. Avian exposure to agricultural pesticides is of conservation concern, especially in the case of rare and threatened species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probability of pesticide exposure of native avian species during operational locust control based on knowledge of species occurrence in areas and times of application. Using presence-absence data provided by the Birds Australia Atlas for 1998 to 2002, we developed a series of generalized linear models to predict avian occurrences on a monthly basis in 0.5 degrees grid cells for 280 species over 2 million km 2 in eastern Australia. We constructed species-specific models relating occupancy patterns to survey date and location, rainfall, and derived habitat preference. Model complexity depended on the number of observations available. Model output was the probability of occurrence for each species at times and locations of past locust control operations within the 5-year study period. Given the high spatiotemporal variability of locust control events, the variability in predicted bird species presence was high, with 108 of the total 280 species being included at least once in the top 20 predicted species for individual space-time events. The models were evaluated using field surveys collected between 2000 and 2005, at sites with and without locust outbreaks. Model strength varied among species. Some species were under- or over-predicted as times and locations of interest typically did not correspond to those in the prediction data set and certain species were likely attracted to locusts as a food source. Field surveys demonstrated the utility of the spatially explicit species lists derived from the models but also identified the presence of a number of previously unanticipated species. These results also emphasize the need for special consideration of rare and threatened species that are poorly predicted by presence-absence models. This modeling exercise was a useful a priori approach in species risk assessments to identify species present at times and locations of locust control applications, and to discover gaps in our knowledge and need for further focused data collection Copyright 2009 by the Ecological Society ot America

Prediction of Bodyweight and Energy Expenditure Using Point Pressure and Foot Acceleration Measurements

Bodyweight (BW) is an essential outcome measure for weight management and is also a major predictor in the estimation of daily energy expenditure (EE). Many individuals, particularly those who are overweight, tend to underreport their BW, posing a challenge for monitors that track physical activity and estimate EE. The ability to automatically estimate BW can potentially increase the practicality and accuracy of these monitoring systems. This paper investigates the feasibility of automatically estimating BW and using this BW to estimate energy expenditure with a footwear-based, multisensor activity monitor. The SmartShoe device uses small pressure sensors embedded in key weight support locations of the insole and a heel-mounted 3D accelerometer. Bodyweight estimates for 9 subjects are computed from pressure sensor measurements when an automatic classification algorithm recognizes a standing posture. We compared the accuracy of EE prediction using estimated BW compared to that of using the measured BW. The results show that point pressure measurement is capable of providing rough estimates of body weight (root-mean squared error of 10.52 kg) which in turn provide a sufficient replacement of manually-entered bodyweight for the purpose of EE prediction (root-mean squared error of 0.7456 METs vs. 0.6972 METs). Advances in the pressure sensor technology should enable better accuracy of body weight estimation and further improvement in accuracy of EE prediction using automatic BW estimates

Medicinal Plant Use and Health Sovereignty: Findings from the Tajik and Afghan Pamirs

Medicinal plants are indicators of indigenous knowledge in the context of political volatility and sociocultural and ecological change in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Medicinal plants are the primary health care option in this region of Central Asia. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate that medicinal plants contribute to health security and sovereignty in a time of instability. We illustrate the nutritional as well as medicinal significance of plants in the daily lives of villagers. Based on over a decade and half of research related to resilience and livelihood security, we present plant uses in the context of mountain communities. Villagers identified over 58 cultivated and noncultivated plants and described 310 distinct uses within 63 categories of treatment and prevention. Presence of knowledge about medicinal plants is directly connected to their use

Insights into the Transposable Mobilome of Paracoccus spp. (Alphaproteobacteria)

Several trap plasmids (enabling positive selection of transposition events) were used to identify a pool of functional transposable elements (TEs) residing in bacteria of the genus Paracoccus (Alphaproteobacteria). Complex analysis of 25 strains representing 20 species of this genus led to the capture and characterization of (i) 37 insertion sequences (ISs) representing 9 IS families (IS3, IS5, IS6, IS21, IS66, IS256, IS1182, IS1380 and IS1634), (ii) a composite transposon Tn6097 generated by two copies of the ISPfe2 (IS1634 family) containing two predicted genetic modules, involved in the arginine deiminase pathway and daunorubicin/doxorubicin resistance, (iii) 3 non-composite transposons of the Tn3 family, including Tn5393 carrying streptomycin resistance and (iv) a transposable genomic island TnPpa1 (45 kb). Some of the elements (e.g. Tn5393, Tn6097 and ISs of the IS903 group of the IS5 family) were shown to contain strong promoters able to drive transcription of genes placed downstream of the target site of transposition. Through the application of trap plasmid pCM132TC, containing a promoterless tetracycline resistance reporter gene, we identified five ways in which transposition can supply promoters to transcriptionally silent genes. Besides highlighting the diversity and specific features of several TEs, the analyses performed in this study have provided novel and interesting information on (i) the dynamics of the process of transposition (e.g. the unusually high frequency of transposition of TnPpa1) and (ii) structural changes in DNA mediated by transposition (e.g. the generation of large deletions in the recipient molecule upon transposition of ISPve1 of the IS21 family). We also demonstrated the great potential of TEs and transposition in the generation of diverse phenotypes as well as in the natural amplification and dissemination of genetic information (of adaptative value) by horizontal gene transfer, which is considered the driving force of bacterial evolution

Anthropology as Science Fiction, or How Print Capitalism Enchanted Victorian Science

Global Challenges (FSW

Genetics and Pathogenesis of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) are phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous. Gene-expression profiling has identified subgroups of DLBCL (activated B-cell-like [ABC], germinal-center B-cell-like [GCB], and unclassified) according to cell of origin that are associated with a differential response to chemotherapy and targeted agents. We sought to extend these findings by identifying genetic subtypes of DLBCL based on shared genomic abnormalities and to uncover therapeutic vulnerabilities based on tumor genetics. METHODS: We studied 574 DLBCL biopsy samples using exome and transcriptome sequencing, array-based DNA copy-number analysis, and targeted amplicon resequencing of 372 genes to identify genes with recurrent aberrations. We developed and implemented an algorithm to discover genetic subtypes based on the co-occurrence of genetic alterations. RESULTS: We identified four prominent genetic subtypes in DLBCL, termed MCD (based on the co-occurrence of MYD88L265P and CD79B mutations), BN2 (based on BCL6 fusions and NOTCH2 mutations), N1 (based on NOTCH1 mutations), and EZB (based on EZH2 mutations and BCL2 translocations). Genetic aberrations in multiple genes distinguished each genetic subtype from other DLBCLs. These subtypes differed phenotypically, as judged by differences in gene-expression signatures and responses to immunochemotherapy, with favorable survival in the BN2 and EZB subtypes and inferior outcomes in the MCD and N1 subtypes. Analysis of genetic pathways suggested that MCD and BN2 DLBCLs rely on "chronic active" B-cell receptor signaling that is amenable to therapeutic inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: We uncovered genetic subtypes of DLBCL with distinct genotypic, epigenetic, and clinical characteristics, providing a potential nosology for precision-medicine strategies in DLBCL. (Funded by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health and others.).This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute and by a National Cancer Institute Strategic Partnering to Evaluate Cancer Signatures (SPECS II) grant (5U01CA157581-05). R.S. was supported by the Dr Mildred Scheel Stiftung für Krebsforschung (Deutsche Krebshilfe). D.J.H. was a Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund Intermediate research fellow. M.K. was supported by the National Institutes of Health Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program and the Washington University in St. Louis Medical Scientist Training Progra