Abert’s Squirrel Management in Support of Endangered Mount Graham Red Squirrel Recovery in Arizona

Recovery of the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel (MGRS) will likely be long and challenging. Its limited habitat, isolation to Pinaleño Mountain range, and demographic characteristics restrict its ability to rebound quickly from threats that impact both the squirrel and its habitat. Currently, threats to the MGRS include habitat degradation and loss through high-severity wildfire, fire suppression activities, insect outbreaks, climate change, and human development, and predation, as well as competition with Abert’s squirrels. The most recent wildfire in 2017 impacted over 48,000 acres of already reduced habitat. A critical first step is to protect and manage the remaining population of the MGRS and its habitat. Management includes but is not limited to maintaining and improving the spruce-fir and mixed conifer biomes, while balancing the need to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire with the needs of the squirrel. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services is conducting an Abert’s Squirrel Removal Project at the request of the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in collaboration with a team of Mount Graham red squirrel experts and managers, to reduce the number of Abert’s squirrels in historical MGRS habitat throughout the Pinaleño Mountains to assist in meeting the needs of the USFWS’ 2011 MGRS draft recovery plan. Abert’s squirrel removals are conducted monthly to minimize competition with MGRS

Anisyl and ferrocenyl adducts of methylenepyran-containing β-diketone: Synthesis, spectral, structural, and redox properties

International audienceWittig reaction between the in situ generated [2,6-diphenyl-4H-pyran-4-yl phosphorane and methyl 4-formylbenzoate afforded the methyl 4-[(2,6-diphenyl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)methyl]benzoate precursor 2 in 75% yield. The anisyl and ferrocenyl adducts of methylenepyran-containing β-diketones 3 and 4, respectively, were prepared from the base-catalyzed Claisen condensation reaction between precursor 2 and 4-methoxyacetophenone or acetylferrocene, using t-BuO−K+ as basic initiator. Both β-diketones 3 and 4 were isolated as an orange and dark-red crystalline solids in 50% yield, respectively. The acetyl derivative 6, 1-acetyl-1′-methylenepyranyl-ferrocene, was synthesized following a classical Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction of the parent ferrocenylmethylenepyran 5, and isolated in 61% yield as a red microcrystalline powder. The condensation reaction between the electron-rich acetyl complex 6 and acetyl acetate, using lithium diisopropylamide as the active base initiator, provided the ferrocenylmethylenepyran-containing β-diketone, 1-(1,3-dioxobutyl)-1′-[(2,6-diphenyl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)methyl] ferrocene 7, isolated in 20% yield as an orange powder. The composition and identity of the new compounds 2-4, 6 and 7 are supported by elemental analysis, FT-IR, one- and two-dimensional 1H and 13C NMR spectral data and mass spectrometry. Additionally, the molecular structures of compounds 2, 4 and 6 were ascertained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. FT-IR and NMR spectral data indicate that both β-diketones 3 and 4 do solely exist as their keto-enol tautomeric form in solution and in the solid state, whereas a mixture of keto-enol and β-diketone tautomers in a 73:27 spectroscopic ratio was observed for 7. In the three cases, enolization takes place exclusively away from the anisyl or ferrocenyl group with formation of a six-membered pseudo-aromatic keto-enol ring, confirmed by the crystal structure of 4. Cyclic voltammetric measurements revealed that all the compounds undergo a single one-electron oxidation, localized presumably at the methylenepyran unit. This first oxidation generates a radical cation that undergoes an intermolecular C-C bond coupling to form the corresponding dimer. Anodically shifted to the first oxidation, cyclovoltammogram of 4 exhibits one reversible two-electron oxidation while that of 6 and 7 present two successive reversible one-electron oxidations, attributed in the three cases to the ferrocenyl fragment of the dimer

Influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje de los y las estudiantes del grado transición A en la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama en el municipio de Turbo

Analizar la influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje de los y las estudiantes del grado transición A, de la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama en el municipio de Turbo.Este proyecto va dirigido a la institución educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama con relación al nivel de transición A, desde esta investigación se pretende reconocer la influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje y como su influencia es de gran beneficio en el ejerció de la educación. Su objetivo es analizar la influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje de los y las estudiantes del grado transición A, de la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama en el municipio de Turbo, la investigación se realizó en el grado de transición A, el cual está dirigido por una sola docente, el grupo cuenta con 32 estudiantes, 14 niños y 18 niñas en edades entre 4 y 6 años. Se pudo observar en el salón de transición A, de la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama, que la mayoría de los y las estudiantes se interesan más por aprender a través del juego, además se evidenció que cierto porcentaje de niños y niñas aprenden por medio de la literatura, como un elemento fundamental para su proceso de desarrollo. Por otro lado pocos estudiantes se familiarizaron con el arte, cada uno de los elementos fue de gran valor para los niños y niñas del grado de transición A

Influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje de los y las estudiantes del grado transición A en la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama en el municipio de Turbo

Analizar la influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje de los y las estudiantes del grado transición A, de la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama en el municipio de Turbo.Este proyecto va dirigido a la institución educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama con relación al nivel de transición A, desde esta investigación se pretende reconocer la influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje y como su influencia es de gran beneficio en el ejerció de la educación. Su objetivo es analizar la influencia del juego, el arte y la literatura en los procesos de enseñanza aprendizaje de los y las estudiantes del grado transición A, de la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama en el municipio de Turbo, la investigación se realizó en el grado de transición A, el cual está dirigido por una sola docente, el grupo cuenta con 32 estudiantes, 14 niños y 18 niñas en edades entre 4 y 6 años. Se pudo observar en el salón de transición A, de la Institución Educativa Francisco Luis Valderrama, que la mayoría de los y las estudiantes se interesan más por aprender a través del juego, además se evidenció que cierto porcentaje de niños y niñas aprenden por medio de la literatura, como un elemento fundamental para su proceso de desarrollo. Por otro lado pocos estudiantes se familiarizaron con el arte, cada uno de los elementos fue de gran valor para los niños y niñas del grado de transición A

Producción de biomasa y extracción de nutrimentos en una plantación de Eucalyptus grandis (Hill ex Maiden) Y Eucalyptus urophylla (S.T. Blake) en ultisoles de México

Objective: Compare biomass production and nutrients accumulation in a plot of Eucalyptus grandis and a plot of Eucalyptus urophylla on four sites of study. Design/methodology/approach: The soils were classified for each site and the biomass productivity in each plantation was evaluated. Soils samples were extracted in each site to determined soil fertility and nutrient uptake by the eucalyptus trees. Results: Site A soil was classified has a Plinthudult, site B was a Rhodudult, site C was a Plinthohumult, and site D was a Paleudult. E. grandis on site C produced lower amount of biomass than sites A, B and D. E. urophylla produced statistically different amount of biomass on each site. Nutrient extraction was statistically lower in sites A and C than in sites B and D. Limitations/implications: Great adaptability to tropical climate and Ultisoils limit the result extrapolation. Findings/Conclusions: Biomass production and nutrient extraction in eucalyptus plantations are directly related to site quality establish in soil classificationObjetivo: Comparar la producción de biomasa y la acumulación de nutrientes en un lote de Eucalyptus grandis y otro de Eucalyptus urophylla en cuatro sitios. Diseño/metodología/aproximación: Se clasificaron los suelos de cada sitio y se evaluó la productividad de biomasa en cada lote. Se extrajeron muestras de suelo en cada sitio para determinar su fertilidad y extracción de nutrientes por parte de los árboles de eucaliptos. Resultados: El suelo del sitio A se clasificó como Plinthudult, del sitio B como un Rhodudult, del sitio C como Plinthohumult, y del sitio D como un Paleudult. E. grandis en el sitio C, produjo menor cantidad de biomasa en comparación con la producción obtenida en los sitios A, B y D. E. urophylla produjo cantidades de biomasa estadísticamente diferentes en cada uno de los sitios. La extracción de N, P, K, Ca y Mg fue estadísticamente menor en los sitios A y C en comparación con los sitios B y D. Limitaciones/implicaciones: La gran capacidad de adaptación del género Eucalyptus a los climas tropicales y a los Ultisoles restringe la extrapolación de los resultados obtenidos. Hallazgos/Conclusiones: La producción de biomasa, así como la extracción de nutrimentos se encuentra relacionada directamente con la calidad del sitio determinado en la clasificación del suelo

Teaching About Health Care Disparities in the Clinical Setting

Clinical teachers often observe interactions that may contribute to health care disparities, yet may hesitate to teach about them. A pedagogical model could help faculty structure teaching about health care disparities in the clinical setting, but to our knowledge, none have been adapted for this purpose. In this paper, we adapt an established model, Time-Effective Strategies for Teaching (TEST), to the teaching of health care disparities. We use several case scenarios to illustrate the core components of the model: diagnose the learner, teach rapidly to the learner’s need, and provide feedback. The TEST model is straightforward, easy to use, and enables the incorporation of teaching about health care disparities into routine clinical teaching

Calpain Cleavage Prediction Using Multiple Kernel Learning

Calpain, an intracellular -dependent cysteine protease, is known to play a role in a wide range of metabolic pathways through limited proteolysis of its substrates. However, only a limited number of these substrates are currently known, with the exact mechanism of substrate recognition and cleavage by calpain still largely unknown. While previous research has successfully applied standard machine-learning algorithms to accurately predict substrate cleavage by other similar types of proteases, their approach does not extend well to calpain, possibly due to its particular mode of proteolytic action and limited amount of experimental data. Through the use of Multiple Kernel Learning, a recent extension to the classic Support Vector Machine framework, we were able to train complex models based on rich, heterogeneous feature sets, leading to significantly improved prediction quality (6% over highest AUC score produced by state-of-the-art methods). In addition to producing a stronger machine-learning model for the prediction of calpain cleavage, we were able to highlight the importance and role of each feature of substrate sequences in defining specificity: primary sequence, secondary structure and solvent accessibility. Most notably, we showed there existed significant specificity differences across calpain sub-types, despite previous assumption to the contrary. Prediction accuracy was further successfully validated using, as an unbiased test set, mutated sequences of calpastatin (endogenous inhibitor of calpain) modified to no longer block calpain's proteolytic action. An online implementation of our prediction tool is available at http://calpain.org

Calpain 3 Is a Rapid-Action, Unidirectional Proteolytic Switch Central to Muscle Remodeling

Calpain 3 (CAPN3) is a cysteine protease that when mutated causes Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 2A. It is thereby the only described Calpain family member that genetically causes a disease. Due to its inherent instability little is known of its substrates or its mechanism of activity and pathogenicity. In this investigation we define a primary sequence motif underlying CAPN3 substrate cleavage. This motif can transform non-related proteins into substrates, and identifies >300 new putative CAPN3 targets. Bioinformatic analyses of these targets demonstrate a critical role in muscle cytoskeletal remodeling and identify novel CAPN3 functions. Among the new CAPN3 substrates are three E3 SUMO ligases of the Protein Inhibitor of Activated Stats (PIAS) family. CAPN3 can cleave PIAS proteins and negatively regulates PIAS3 sumoylase activity. Consequently, SUMO2 is deregulated in patient muscle tissue. Our study thus uncovers unexpected crosstalk between CAPN3 proteolysis and protein sumoylation, with strong implications for muscle remodeling

Downscaling Climate Change Impacts, Socio-Economic Implications and Alternative Adaptation Pathways for Islands and Outermost Regions

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the future scenarios of climate change and management concerns associated with climate change impacts on the blue economy of European islands and outermost regions. The publication collects major findings of the SOCLIMPACT project’s research outcomes, aiming to raise social awareness among policy-makers and industry about climate change consequences at local level, and provide knowledge-based information to support policy design, from local to national level. This comprehensive book will also assist students, scholars and practitioners to understand, conceptualize and effectively and responsibly manage climate change information and applied research. This book provides invaluable material for Blue Growth Management, theory and application, at all levels. This first edition includes up-to-date data, statistics, references, case material and figures of the 12 islands case studies. ¨Downscaling climate change impacts, socio-economic implications and alternative adaptation pathways for Islands and Outermost Regions¨ is a must-read book, given the accessible style and breadth and depth with which the topic is dealt. The book is an up-to-date synthesis of key knowledge on this area, written by a multidisciplinary group of experts on climate and economic modelling, and policy design