Observations of Late Fall Migratory Sandhill Cranes, Platte River, Nebraska

Observations of migratory Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) were made on the Platte River near Kearney, Nebraska. On 26 November 1978, night roosting in the Platte River occurred on thin ice (less than 2 cm) in open areas which were protected by riparian vegetation from cold north winds (35-40 km/hr-NNW, -10°C). Roosting Cranes were spaced very closely (less than 0.5 m) during evening and early morning hours, with increased spacing (about 1.0 m) occurring during late morning. A diagram of the roost area was prepared. The roost was located near the northern river bank in a river stretch characterized by low, herbaceous type sandbar islands (vegetation about 1 m or less in height). No roosting occurred on islands, but some Cranes at the periphery of the flock roosted in the lower one-half of the northern river bank, which supported vegetation from 1.2 to 2.4 m tall, primarily sparsely spaced willow trees and sunflowers

Observations of Late Fall Migratory Sandhill Cranes, Platte River, Nebraska

Observations of migratory Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) were made on the Platte River near Kearney, Nebraska. On 26 November 1978, night roosting in the Platte River occurred on thin ice (less than 2 cm) in open areas which were protected by riparian vegetation from cold north winds (35-40 km/hr-NNW, -10°C). Roosting Cranes were spaced very closely (less than 0.5 m) during evening and early morning hours, with increased spacing (about 1.0 m) occurring during late morning. A diagram of the roost area was prepared. The roost was located near the northern river bank in a river stretch characterized by low, herbaceous type sandbar islands (vegetation about 1 m or less in height). No roosting occurred on islands, but some Cranes at the periphery of the flock roosted in the lower one-half of the northern river bank, which supported vegetation from 1.2 to 2.4 m tall, primarily sparsely spaced willow trees and sunflowers

Finite element approximation of the transport of reactive solutes in porous media .2. Error estimates for equilibrium adsorption processes

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Scaling of magnetic fluctuations near a quantum phase transition

We use inelastic neutron scattering to measure the magnetic fluctuations in a single crystal of the heavy fermion alloy CeCu_5.9Au_0.1 close to the antiferromagnetic quantum critical point. The energy and temperature-dependent spectra obey (E/T) scaling at Q near (1,0,0). The neutron data and earlier bulk susceptibility are consistent with the form 1/X ~ f(Q)+(-iE+bT)^a, with an anomalous exponent a=0.8. We confirm the earlier observation of quasi-low dimensionality and show how both the magnetic fluctuations and the thermodynamics can be understood in terms of a quantum Lifshitz point.Comment: Latex file with two postscript figure

Florida\u27s Mystery Coral-Killer Identified

An unusual coral disease appeared on the Florida Reef Tract in June 1995. It was distinct in its microbiology, its pattern of tissue degradation, the species susceptible to it, and its regional distribution. Symptoms included a sharp line between healthy and diseased tissue, as occurs with other coral diseases, but the pathogen responsible for the new outbreak seemed more virulent, affected a wider variety of species, and destroyed tissue much more rapidly than these other \u27line\u27 or \u27band\u27 diseases. We have identified the pathogen responsible for this new disease as a new species of Sphingomonas

Velocity Selection for Propagating Fronts in Superconductors

Using the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations we study the propagation of planar fronts in superconductors, which would appear after a quench to zero applied magnetic field. Our numerical solutions show that the fronts propagate at a unique speed which is controlled by the amount of magnetic flux trapped in the front. For small flux the speed can be determined from the linear marginal stability hypothesis, while for large flux the speed may be calculated using matched asymptotic expansions. At a special point the order parameter and vector potential are dual, leading to an exact solution which is used as the starting point for a perturbative analysis.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter

Guidelines for Reporting Health Research: The EQUATOR Network's Survey of Guideline Authors

Iveta Simera and colleagues survey the authors of 37 guidelines on reporting health research

Genetic Variants in Genes Related to Inflammation Apoptosis and Autophagy in Breast Cancer Risk

BackgroundInflammation contributes to breast cancer development through its effects on cell damage. This damage is usually dealt with by key genes involved in apoptosis and autophagy pathways. MethodsWe tested 206 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 54 genes related to inflammation, apoptosis and autophagy in a population-based breast cancer study of women of European (658 cases and 795 controls) and East Asian (262 cases and 127 controls) descent. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios for breast cancer risk, and case-only analysis to compare breast cancer subtypes (defined by ER/PR/HER2 status), with adjustment for confounders. We assessed statistical interactions between the SNPs and lifestyle factors (smoking status, physical activity and body mass index). Results and conclusionAlthough no SNP was associated with breast cancer risk among women of European descent, we found evidence for an association among East Asians for rs1800925 (IL-13) and breast cancer risk (OR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.32–3.28; p = 0.000779), which remained statistically significant after multiple testing correction (padj = 0.0350). This association was replicated in a meta-analysis of 4305 cases and 4194 controls in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Genetics Study (OR 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03–1.21, p = 0.011). Further, we found evidence of an interaction between rs7874234 (TSC1) and physical activity among women of East Asian descent

Regional Decline of Coral Cover in the Indo-Pacific: Timing, Extent, and Subregional Comparisons

A number of factors have recently caused mass coral mortality events in all of the world's tropical oceans. However, little is known about the timing, rate or spatial variability of the loss of reef-building corals, especially in the Indo-Pacific, which contains 75% of the world's coral reefs.We compiled and analyzed a coral cover database of 6001 quantitative surveys of 2667 Indo-Pacific coral reefs performed between 1968 and 2004. Surveys conducted during 2003 indicated that coral cover averaged only 22.1% (95% CI: 20.7, 23.4) and just 7 of 390 reefs surveyed that year had coral cover >60%. Estimated yearly coral cover loss based on annually pooled survey data was approximately 1% over the last twenty years and 2% between 1997 and 2003 (or 3,168 km(2) per year). The annual loss based on repeated measures regression analysis of a subset of reefs that were monitored for multiple years from 1997 to 2004 was 0.72 % (n = 476 reefs, 95% CI: 0.36, 1.08).The rate and extent of coral loss in the Indo-Pacific are greater than expected. Coral cover was also surprisingly uniform among subregions and declined decades earlier than previously assumed, even on some of the Pacific's most intensely managed reefs. These results have significant implications for policy makers and resource managers as they search for successful models to reverse coral loss

The Association Between Blood Coagulation Activity and Lung Function: A Population-Based Study

<p><b>Background:</b> Increased in susceptibility to thrombotic disease may be associated with lower lung function. If causal, this association may suggest an area for development of new interventions for lung disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between blood coagulation activation as measured by plasma d-dimers and lung function.</p> <p><b>Methodology/Principal Findings:</b> We conducted a cross-sectional study on 2463 randomly selected adults in 1991 and followed up 1252 of these individuals in 2000. Plasma D-dimer levels, a marker of activity of blood coagulation pathways, were analysed in the baseline 1991 samples. There was an inverse cross-sectional association between plasma D-dimer and Forced Expiratory Volume in one second, with a decrease of 71 ml per mg FEU/ml increment in plasma D-dimer (95% confidence intervals CI: -135 to -6), and a decrease in Forced Vital Capacity (97 ml per mg FEU/ml increase in D-dimer, 95% CI: -170 to -24). These associations were attenuated after adjustment for serum highly sensitive CRP. No association was observed between plasma D-dimer and the decline in lung function between 1991 and 2000.</p> <p><b>Conclusions/Significance:</b> The cross-sectional findings are consistent with the hypothesis that activation of blood coagulation pathways is associated with decreased lung function, and that systemic inflammation may contribute to this relation. However, the lack of an association with decline in lung function suggests that clotting pathways that involve d-dimers may not be a promising therapeutic target for new interventions for respiratory disease.</p&gt