Knowing your community: fostering biodiversity awareness in our students’ daily existence

There are strong arguments suggesting that developing students’ sensitivity to local biodiversity and conservation issues is as important as emphasizing an understanding of global conservation issues happening in faraway lands (Ehrenfeld, 2009). Many students arrive at a Study Abroad destination, with a good understanding of theory, but with little field experience at home. Environmental educators in Study Abroad are able to use the novelty and grandeur of our exotic destinations to systematically teach students the patterns and processes of ecological and human communities at our sites, while inspiring a sense of place in our students. By immersing students in the biotic and human communities at our program locations, we can instill in our students a lifelong appreciation for biodiversity and a quest for a sense of place, wherever they eventually call “home”. When students can appreciate the biotic diversity and human interactions with the place where they live, it can serve as the foundation for fostering greater humility and respect of our daily demands on the planet. This session will briefly discuss the why’s and how’s of getting our students to know more about their program sites than they do about their own backyards. An overview of techniques used at the SIT Study Abroad Cairns Program, will be given to illustrate that program’s attempt to give students an integrated “sense of place” and foster a life-long appreciation for individuals, communities, and landscapes. The session will consist of a 15 minute presentation of theoretical justification, followed by a 30 minute overview of assignments and practical approaches to achieving a sense of place in our students. Input from the wider audience will then be sought for application and feedback between the ideas and approaches raised during the presentation with other programs and disciplines

Issues in the Pharmacokinetics of Trichloroethylene and Its Metabolites

Much progress has been made in understanding the complex pharmacokinetics of trichloroethylene (TCE). Qualitatively, it is clear that TCE is metabolized to multiple metabolites either locally or into systemic circulation. Many of these metabolites are thought to have toxicologic importance. In addition, efforts to develop physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models have led to a better quantitative assessment of the dosimetry of TCE and several of its metabolites. As part of a mini-monograph on key issues in the health risk assessment of TCE, this article is a review of a number of the current scientific issues in TCE pharmacokinetics and recent PBPK modeling efforts with a focus on literature published since 2000. Particular attention is paid to factors affecting PBPK modeling for application to risk assessment. Recent TCE PBPK modeling efforts, coupled with methodologic advances in characterizing uncertainty and variability, suggest that rigorous application of PBPK modeling to TCE risk assessment appears feasible at least for TCE and its major oxidative metabolites trichloroacetic acid and trichloroethanol. However, a number of basic structural hypotheses such as enterohepatic recirculation, plasma binding, and flow- or diffusion-limited treatment of tissue distribution require additional evaluation and analysis. Moreover, there are a number of metabolites of potential toxicologic interest, such as chloral, dichloroacetic acid, and those derived from glutathione conjugation, for which reliable pharmacokinetic data is sparse because of analytical difficulties or low concentrations in systemic circulation. It will be a challenge to develop reliable dosimetry for such cases

Impacts of organic and conventional crop management on diversity and activity of free-living nitrogen fixing bacteria and total bacteria are subsidiary to temporal effects

A three year field study (2007-2009) of the diversity and numbers of the total and metabolically active free-living diazotophic bacteria and total bacterial communities in organic and conventionally managed agricultural soil was conducted at the Nafferton Factorial Systems Comparison (NFSC) study, in northeast England. The result demonstrated that there was no consistent effect of either organic or conventional soil management across the three years on the diversity or quantity of either diazotrophic or total bacterial communities. However, ordination analyses carried out on data from each individual year showed that factors associated with the different fertility management measures including availability of nitrogen species, organic carbon and pH, did exert significant effects on the structure of both diazotrophic and total bacterial communities. It appeared that the dominant drivers of qualitative and quantitative changes in both communities were annual and seasonal effects. Moreover, regression analyses showed activity of both communities was significantly affected by soil temperature and climatic conditions. The diazotrophic community showed no significant change in diversity across the three years, however, the total bacterial community significantly increased in diversity year on year. Diversity was always greatest during March for both diazotrophic and total bacterial communities. Quantitative analyses using qPCR of each community indicated that metabolically active diazotrophs were highest in year 1 but the population significantly declined in year 2 before recovering somewhat in the final year. The total bacterial population in contrast increased significantly each year. Seasonal effects were less consistent in this quantitative study

Safety of bazedoxifene in a randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled phase 3 study of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Background. We report the safety findings from a 3-year phase 3 study (NCT00205777) of bazedoxifene, a novel selective estrogen receptor modulator under development for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Methods. Healthy postmenopausal osteoporotic women (N = 7,492; mean age, 66.4 years) were randomized to daily doses of bazedoxifene 20 or 40 mg, raloxifene 60 mg, or placebo for 3 years. Safety and tolerability were assessed by adverse event (AE) reporting and routine physical, gynecologic, and breast examination. Results. Overall, the incidence of AEs, serious AEs, and discontinuations due to AEs in the bazedoxifene groups was not different from that seen in the placebo group. The incidence of hot flushes and leg cramps was higher with bazedoxifene or raloxifene compared with placebo. The rates of cardiac disorders and cerebrovascular events were low and evenly distributed among groups. Venous thromboembolic events, primarily deep vein thromboses, were more frequently reported in the active treatment groups compared with the placebo group; rates were similar with bazedoxifene and raloxifene. Bazedoxifene showed a neutral effect on the breast and an excellent endometrial safety profile. The incidence of fibrocystic breast disease was lower with bazedoxifene 20 and 40 mg versus raloxifene or placebo. Reductions in total and low-density lipoprotein levels and increases in high-density lipoprotein levels were seen with bazedoxifene versus placebo; similar results were seen with raloxifene. Triglyceride levels were similar among groups. Conclusion. Bazedoxifene showed a favorable safety and tolerability profile in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. © 2010 Christiansen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Inter-annual decrease in pulse rate and peak frequency of Southeast Pacific blue whale song types

The decrease in the frequency of two southeast Pacific blue whale song types was examined over decades, usingacoustic data from several different sources ranging between the Equator and Chilean Patagonia. The pulse rate ofthe song units as well as their peak frequency were measured using two different methods (summed auto-correlationand Fourier transform). The sources of error associated with each measurement were assessed. There was a lineardecline in both parameters for the more common song type (southeast Pacific song type n ◦ 2). An abbreviated analysisalso showed a frequency decline in the scarcer southeast Pacific song type n ◦ 1 between 1970 to 2014, revealing thatboth song types are declining at similar rates. We discussed the use of measuring both pulse rate and peak frequencyto examine the frequency decline. Finally, a comparison of the rates of frequency decline with other song typesreported in the literature is presented.La décroissance en fréquence des deux chants de baleine bleue de l'océan pacifique sud est est examiné sur plusieurs décennies en utilisant comme source des données acoustiques de l'Equateur à la Patagonie chilienne. La fréquence de pulsation et la fréquence pic des signaux sont mesurés en utilisant deux méthodes distinctes (auto-corrélation sommée et transformée de Fourier rapide). Les sources d'erreur associées à chaque mesure sont estimées. Il y a un déclin linéaire de ces deux fréquences pour le chant le plus commun de cette zone (chant du Pacifique Sud Est n°2, SEP2). Un analyse plus rapide montre aussi une baisse linéaire, entre 1970 et 2014, de la fréquence du chant SEP1, plus rarement enregistré dans cette zone. Ces deux baisses ont des amplitudes similaires. L'intérêt de mesurer la fréquence de pulsation et la fréquence pic de façon concomitante est estimé. Enfin, une comparaison globale des déclins en fréquence de tous les types de chants de baleines bleues est fournie

π0\pi^0 photoproduction on the proton for photon energies from 0.675 to 2.875 GeV

Differential cross sections for the reaction $\gamma p \to p \pi^0$ have been measured with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and a tagged photon beam with energies from 0.675 to 2.875 GeV. The results reported here possess greater accuracy in the absolute normalization than previous measurements. They disagree with recent CB-ELSA measurements for the process at forward scattering angles. Agreement with the SAID and MAID fits is found below 1 GeV. The present set of cross sections has been incorporated into the SAID database, and exploratory fits have been extended to 3 GeV. Resonance couplings have been extracted and compared to previous determinations.Comment: 18 pages, 48 figure

Exclusive ρ0\rho^0 electroproduction on the proton at CLAS

The $e p\to e^\prime p \rho^0$ reaction has been measured, using the 5.754 GeV electron beam of Jefferson Lab and the CLAS detector. This represents the largest ever set of data for this reaction in the valence region. Integrated and differential cross sections are presented. The $W$, $Q^2$ and $t$ dependences of the cross section are compared to theoretical calculations based on $t$-channel meson-exchange Regge theory on the one hand and on quark handbag diagrams related to Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) on the other hand. The Regge approach can describe at the $\approx$ 30% level most of the features of the present data while the two GPD calculations that are presented in this article which succesfully reproduce the high energy data strongly underestimate the present data. The question is then raised whether this discrepancy originates from an incomplete or inexact way of modelling the GPDs or the associated hard scattering amplitude or whether the GPD formalism is simply inapplicable in this region due to higher-twists contributions, incalculable at present.Comment: 29 pages, 29 figure

First Measurement of Beam-Recoil Observables Cx and Cz in Hyperon Photoproduction

Spin transfer from circularly polarized real photons to recoiling hyperons has been measured for the reactions $\vec\gamma + p \to K^+ + \vec\Lambda$ and $\vec\gamma + p \to K^+ + \vec\Sigma^0$. The data were obtained using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass energies $W$ between 1.6 and 2.53 GeV, and for $-0.85<\cos\theta_{K^+}^{c.m.}< +0.95$. For the $\Lambda$, the polarization transfer coefficient along the photon momentum axis, $C_z$, was found to be near unity for a wide range of energy and kaon production angles. The associated transverse polarization coefficient, $C_x$, is smaller than $C_z$ by a roughly constant difference of unity. Most significantly, the {\it total} $\Lambda$ polarization vector, including the induced polarization $P$, has magnitude consistent with unity at all measured energies and production angles when the beam is fully polarized. For the $\Sigma^0$ this simple phenomenology does not hold. All existing hadrodynamic models are in poor agreement with these results.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figures, Submitted to Physical Review