Analysis of Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Levels in Side-blotched Lizards ( Uta stansburiana ) Fed Varying Diets

When attempting to determine the diet of wild animals, a limited number of techniques currently exist. Often, biologists look at the stomach contents or feces of an animal, if they cannot observe what it is eating directly. However, these techniques often cannot be used with reptiles because they may not eat often or may have an empty stomach when the contents of their stomach are examined. Many ecologists have begun to use stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to determine what an animal has eaten. Stable isotopes are useful because unlike radioactive isotopes, stable isotopes do not decay and thus can be used as a better tracer through different trophic levels. Obtaining stable isotopes can be accomplished by analyzing a small tissue sample from the animal and comparing its carbon and nitrogen stable isotope levels to those of several of its potential prey. Since variation in carbon and nitrogen isotopes exists in all living things and is maintained with increases in trophic level, these chemical signatures can be good indicators of an animal’s current diet. Our central question is to test the assumption that there is a direct correlation between the stable isotope signatures found in Side-blotched Lizards ( Uta stansburiana ) and some of their insect prey in the lab, where we could control their diet. We predicted that there would be a direct correlation between the carbon (δ1 3 C) and nitrogen (δ1 5 N) levels of the lizards and those of their prey. We found that, although δ1 3 C andδ1 5 N values of lizards generally matched their diet, diet complexity did not significantly alter lizard toe tissue stable isotope ratios. This method has the potential to be more effective at determining wild reptile diet than other techniques currently used

In situ measurement of the dynamic structure factor in ultracold quantum gases

We propose an experimental setup to efficiently measure the dynamic structure factor of ultracold quantum gases. Our method uses the interaction of the trapped atomic system with two different cavity modes, which are driven by external laser fields. By measuring the output fields of the cavity the dynamic structure factor of the atomic system can be determined. Contrary to previous approaches the atomic system is not destroyed during the measurement process.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Survival of Microorganisms on Meat Surfaces Treated with Ultra-High Temperatures

Sterile ceramic plates and the surface of beef steaks were inoculated with the pathogenic microorganisms Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Samples were also inoculated with nonpathogenic microorganisms Clostridium sporogenes ATCC 7955, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacillus stearothermophilus. Concentrations of organisms in the pure culture used to inoculate the samples were selected within the range of 106 to 108 colony forming units/ml (CFU/ml). Samples were treated with ultra-high temperature (UHT), and· the surviving organisms were recovered and counted. Meat samples were exposed to 1100°C for 22 seconds. Beef steaks inoculated with pathogenic microorganisms had low survival rates. The percent destruction ranged from 99.9 to 99.8. Sixteen percent of the spores from putrefactive anaerobe 3679 were destroyed. UHT was not found to be effective in destroying the spores of this organism. UHT destroyed 99.9 to 100 percent of the nonpathogenic microorganisms Pseudomonas and Bacillus stearothermophilus, respectively, inoculated on the surface of beef steaks prior to treatment. UHT pasteurization technology proved to be an effective method of controlling vegetative pathogens and vegetative spoilage organisms on meat surfaces

DYNAMIC L-GLUTAMATE SIGNALING IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND THE EFFECTS OF METHYLPHENIDATE TREATMENT

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is an area of the brain that is critically important for learning, memory, organization, and integration, and PFC dysfunction has been associated with pathologies including Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and drug addiction. However, there exists a paucity of information regarding neurochemical signaling in the distinct sub-regions of the PFC, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The mPFC receives glutamatergic input from a number of brain areas, and functional glutamate signaling is essential for normal cognitive processes. To further understand glutamate neurotransmission, in vivo measurements of glutamate were performed in the cingulate cortex, prelimbic cortex, and infralimbic cortex of anesthetized rats using enzyme-based microelectrode array technology. Measurements of acetylcholine were also performed to examine the relationship between glutamate and other neurotransmitters in the mPFC. The described studies revealed a homogeneity of glutamate and acetylcholine signaling in the mPFC sub-regions, indicating somewhat uniform tonic and phasic levels of these two transmitters. In the infralimbic mPFC of awake freely-moving rats, rapid, phasic glutamate signaling events, termed “transients” were observed and in vivo glutamate signaling was successfully monitored over 24 hour time periods. The effects of methylphenidate (MPH), a stimulant medication with abuse potential that is used in the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, were measured in mPFC sub-regions of anesthetized rats. Data revealed similar tonic and phasic glutamate levels between chronic MPH-treated rats and controls in all sub-regions. Locomotor data from the chronic treatment period supported the behavioral sensitization effects of multiple MPH treatments. Significant effects were observed in locomotor activity, resting levels of glutamate, and glutamate uptake rates in the infralimbic mPFC of awake, freely-moving animals that received chronic MPH treatment. Taken together, this body of work characterizes glutamate signaling in the rat mPFC to a degree never before reported, and serves to report for the first time the effects of MPH on glutamate signaling in the mPFC

Don’t know (where the women are): why the EU referendum campaigns haven’t engaged female voters

In this extract from their report, How (not) to talk about Europe, Sunder Katwala and Steve Ballinger of British Future point out that many women have not yet made up their minds how to vote in the referendum, and argue that the male-dominated Leave and Remain campaigns are failing to engage female voters. Deborah Mattinson (left) of Britain Thinks draws on her work with focus groups of women talking about Europe

Reporting on social marketing issues - a news media analysis

This paper explores online news media reporting through automated web content analysis to determine the prevalence and attitudes of social marketing issues across various countries. Results showed that Education and Work was the most commonly reported on category followed by Health Services, Family Planning, Environment, Crime and Justice and Road Safety. News media reporting in South Africa was particularly strong across Education and Work as well as Health Services. Canada recorded the highest reporting for Family Planning. New Zealand was the most prevalent reporter for the Environmental category. Crime and Justice and Road Safety only contributed a negligible amount to the overall term frequency counts across all categories. Social marketing stakeholders must continue to rally supportfrom the media in order to increase awareness of specific issues facing countries and society

Cavity state preparation using adiabatic transfer

We show how to prepare a variety of cavity field states for multiple cavities. The state preparation technique used is related to the method of stimulated adiabatic Raman passage or STIRAP. The cavity modes are coupled by atoms, making it possible to transfer an arbitrary cavity field state from one cavity to another, and also to prepare non-trivial cavity field states. In particular, we show how to prepare entangled states of two or more cavities, such as an EPR state and a W state, as well as various entangled superpositions of coherent states in different cavities, including Schrodinger cat states. The theoretical considerations are supported by numerical simulations.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted in Phys. Rev.

Alternative land uses

One aproach to minimise the high nutrient content and associated algal pollution of the Peel-Harvey estuarine system is to reduce phosphorus losses at their source. Farmers can do this by changing land use is such a way thar phosphorus run-off fromthe catchment soils into drainage is prevented or at least reduced. The department of Agriculture is investigating the economics of alternative uses, particularly substituting forestry with Pinus pinaster or Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum) for present beef and sheep enterprises. P. pinaster is used for logging and E. globulus for pulping