Review of IT Offshore Outsourcing issues

This paper attempts to take an objective look at offshore outsourcing within the information technology (IT) industry. Background material is provided to establish a clear definition and context for the discussion. Basic benefits, risks, and trends are identified and domestic market impacts are explored

Cell proliferation within small intestinal crypts is the principal driving force for cell migration on villi

The functional integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier relies on tight coordination of cell proliferation and migration, with failure to regulate these processes resulting in disease. It is not known whether cell proliferation is sufficient to drive epithelial cell migration during homoeostatic turnover of the epithelium. Nor is it known precisely how villus cell migration is affected when proliferation is perturbed. Some reports suggest that proliferation and migration may not be related while other studies support a direct relationship. We used established cell-tracking methods based on thymine analog cell labeling and developed tailored mathematical models to quantify cell proliferation and migration under normal conditions and when proliferation is reduced and when it is temporarily halted. We found that epithelial cell migration velocities along the villi are coupled to cell proliferation rates within the crypts in all conditions. Furthermore, halting and resuming proliferation results in the synchronized response of cell migration on the villi. We conclude that cell proliferation within the crypt is the primary force that drives cell migration along the villus. This methodology can be applied to interrogate intestinal epithelial dynamics and characterize situations in which processes involved in cell turnover become uncoupled, including pharmacological treatments and disease models

Riparian Research and Management: Past, Present, Future: Volume 1

Fifty years ago, riparian habitats were not recognized for their extensive and critical contributions to wildlife and the ecosystem function of watersheds. This changed as riparian values were identified and documented, and the science of riparian ecology developed steadily. Papers in this volume range from the more mesic northwestern United States to the arid Southwest and Mexico. More than two dozen authors—most with decades of experience—review the origins of riparian science in the western United States, document what is currently known about riparian ecosystems, and project future needs. Topics are widespread and include: interactions with fire, climate change, and declining water; impacts from exotic species; unintended consequences of biological control; the role of small mammals; watershed response to beavers; watershed and riparian changes; changes below large dams; water birds of the Colorado River Delta; and terrestrial vertebrates of mesquite bosques. Appendices and references chronicle the field’s literature, authors, “riparian pioneers,” and conferences

Data from: Seed predation has the potential to drive a rare plant to extinction

1. Pre-dispersal seed predation is sometimes considered unlikely to dramatically affect plant population growth because plants are generally expected to produce more seeds than there are safe sites for germination. Lupinus constancei is a rare herb of limited distribution, with fewer than 400 reproductive individuals restricted to a single square kilometre of north-western California, USA. In addition to the vulnerability resulting from its extremely small population size, L. constancei faces heavy seed predation by small mammals. 2. As a stop-gap measure to prevent population decline, managers began covering a large number of the reproductive plants with herbivory exclosures in 2003, but the population-level effects of seed predation and the effectiveness of this caging treatment were unknown. We used ten years of demographic data to compare the population dynamics of plants inside herbivory exclosures with those sustaining ambient rodent seed predation. 3. We found that the stochastic population growth rate would be robust without seed predation (λs = 1.17), but without continued human intervention (i.e. use of exclosures), the current rate of predation would result in a decline towards extinction (λs = 0.92). 4. After our study concluded, high mortality due to two extreme winter droughts followed by a wildland fire reduced the number of reproductive plants to ~103, making extinction of L. constancei more likely. 5. Synthesis and applications. The prevalence of consumer-driven population decline is largely unknown, but this study demonstrates that pre-dispersal seed predation by rodents can have powerful population-level effects, and represents one set of conditions under which consumer pressure has the potential to drive plant extinction. However, with continued management to limit the effects of seed predation in the short-term and investigation into the ultimate drivers of this high seed predation rate in the long-term, the Lassics lupine population could be restored to a robust rate of growth

Lupinus constancei Monitoring Data

Monitoring data from Lassics lupine (Lupinus constancei) - used to calculate vital rate means and variance

Germination Seed Grid

Germination data from seed grid experiment - used to calculate g1

Site Correlation Data

Vital rate correlations between sites - required to run Population Projection R scrip

Seed Production Analysis

R script for analysis of seed data - requires Seed Production Data file to ru

Seed Survival Data

Seed survival data - used to calculate s1 - required to run Seed Survival Analysis R scrip

Germination Seed Grid

Germination data from seed grid experiment - used to calculate g1