Preliminary Gibbon Status Review for Lao PDR 2008

Provides a site directory for gibbon habitats and populations in Laos. Examines patterns of threats and conservation and documents the national conservation status and outlook for each species. Makes recommendations for urgent interventions

The gatekeeper: individual differences are key in the chain from perception to behaviour

A basic assumption in mainstream social cognition is that the path from perception to behaviour is often automatic and direct, as supported for example by several experimental studies showing that priming can lead directly to a congruent behaviour without any need of conscious awareness of the process. However, we argue that the priming of a goal or an object activates individual differences in automatic evaluations at the associative level that in turn are the key predictors of action (gatekeeper model). A study (n = 90) on the American stereotype is presented to support the model. The results show that individual differences of the American stereotype as assessed with the IAT predicts a relevant action (essay evaluation) but only under condition of priming. Broader implications for predictive validity of implicit measures are also discussed

L’Alouette gulgule Alauda gulgula au Laos : un oiseau rural menacé et passé inaperçu

Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula was first found in Laos only in 1997 but was presumably overlooked historically. It has since been recorded from many sites on the Vientiane plain, four sites elsewhere on the Mekong plain, one mid-altitude grassy plateau and one mid-altitude airport. All sites are on level land. All known breeding areas have extensive rather sparse short- to mid-height grass during the midand late dry season, when (in contrast to sympatric passerines) the species breeds. Year-round observations at ten non-forest sites on the Vientiane plain found breeding at only two sites, both supporting extensive non-intensifi ed (single-crop) paddy rice close to permanent waterbodies; birds did not breed at two sites with dry-season irrigated rice, at two sites with single-crop rice but far from water, or at two sites with extensive Mekong channel bed exposed in the dry season. Elsewhere in Laos there are no records from extensive secondary hill dry grassland or natural grassland within deciduous dipterocarp forest. If the species is, across Laos, mainly using habitats as on the Vientiane plain, it faces severe national threats from ongoing agricultural intensificationL'Alouette gulgule Alauda gulgula au Laos: un oiseau rural menacé et passé inaperçu. -Cette alouette ne fut découverte au Laos qu'en 1997 mais était probablement restée inaperçue par le passé. Elle a depuis été notée en beaucoup d'endroits de la plaine de Vientiane, et dans quatre sites ailleurs dans la plaine du Mékong, sur un plateau herbeux et un aéroport de moyenne altitude. Toutes les localités sont en terrain plat. Toutes les zones de reproduction connues ont des étendues d'herbes clairsemées basses ou du moins peu hautes durant le milieu et la fin de la saison sèche quand, contrairement aux passereaux sympatriques, l'espèce niche. Des observations au long de l'année en dix sites non forestiers de la plaine de Ventiane n'ont révélé la reproduction qu'en deux de ces sites qui, tous les deux, présentaient des rizières (monoculture non intense) proches d'étendues d'eau permanentes. Ces alouettes ne nichèrent pas dans deux sites caractérisés par des rizières irriguées de saison sèche, ni dans deux autres avec une monoculture de riz loin de l'eau, ni dans encore deux autres où le lit du Mékong était largement exondé en saison sèche. Ailleurs au Laos il n'y a pas d'observations dans les vastes prairies sèches secondarisées des collines ni dans les prairies naturelles au milieu de la forêt décidue à Diptérocarpacées. Si, dans tout le Laos, l'espèce n'occupe que des habitats comme ceux de la plaine de Ventiane, elle se trouve soumise à de sévères menaces dues à l'intensification agricole qui a cours

The Role of Mediators in the Development of Longitudinal Mathematics Achievement Associations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115932/1/cdev12416_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115932/2/cdev12416.pd

Emergence of dissipative structures in current-carrying superconducting wires

We discuss the emergence of a spontaneous temperature and critical current spatial modulation in current-carrying high temperature superconducting wire. The modulation of the critical current along the wire on a scale of 3 - 10 mm forces a fraction of the transport current to crisscross the resistive interface between the superconducting film and normal metal stabilizer attached to it. This generates additional heat that allows such a structure to be self sustainable. Stability and the conditions for experimental observation of this phenomenon are also discussed.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev. E (in section Chaos and Pattern Formation

The CEACAM1 expression is decreased in the liver of severely obese patients with or without diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Type 2 diabetes is mainly caused by insulin resistance. The carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is an important candidate for causing insulin resistance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The CEACAM1 expression was evaluated immunohistochemically in the liver tissues of 99 severely obese or non-obese subjects with or without diabetes. The CEACAM1 expression was classified into two categories: a normal expression or a decreased expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The CEACAM1 expression was markedly decreased in the hepatocytes with macrovesicular steatosis. A decreased CEACAM1 expression was noted in 29 (29%) of 99 cases. The incidence of a decreased CEACAM1 expression was significantly higher in high grade fatty liver as well as severe obesity with or without diabetes (p < 0.05). The incidence of a decreased CEACAM1 expression was not different between the diabetic and non-diabetic groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This data supports that a decreased CEACAM1 expression is related to obesity and a fatty liver.</p

The opposites task: Using general rules to test cognitive flexibility in preschoolers

A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. Executive functions play an important role in cognitive development, and during the preschool years especially, children's performance is limited in tasks that demand flexibility in their behavior. We asked whether preschoolers would exhibit limitations when they are required to apply a general rule in the context of novel stimuli on every trial (the "opposites" task). Two types of inhibitory processing were measured: response interference (resistance to interference from a competing response) and proactive interference (resistance to interference from a previously relevant rule). Group data show 3-year-olds have difficulty inhibiting prepotent tendencies under these conditions, whereas 5-year-olds' accuracy is near ceiling in the task. (Contains 4 footnotes and 1 table.

Revisiting clinical trials on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk

The most relevant clinical trials, assessing the role of glycemic control in reducing cardiovascular risk, are examined. The UKPDS was the first to address this issue. More recent trials (ACCORD, ADVANCE and VADT) are controversial and evidences did not support that strict glycemic control (reflected by normal glycated hemoglobin) exclusively is sufficient to reduce cardiovascular risk in complicated individuals with long-term type 2 diabetes mellitus. Some possible reasons for controversies are included

Modelling the Species Distribution of Flat-Headed Cats (Prionailurus planiceps), an Endangered South-East Asian Small Felid

Background: The flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) is one of the world’s least known, highly threatened felids with a distribution restricted to tropical lowland rainforests in Peninsular Thailand/Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. Throughout its geographic range large-scale anthropogenic transformation processes, including the pollution of fresh-water river systems and landscape fragmentation, raise concerns regarding its conservation status. Despite an increasing number of cameratrapping field surveys for carnivores in South-East Asia during the past two decades, few of these studies recorded the flatheaded cat. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we designed a predictive species distribution model using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm to reassess the potential current distribution and conservation status of the flat-headed cat. Eighty-eight independent species occurrence records were gathered from field surveys, literature records, and museum collections. These current and historical records were analysed in relation to bioclimatic variables (WorldClim), altitude (SRTM) and minimum distance to larger water resources (Digital Chart of the World). Distance to water was identified as the key predictor for the occurrence of flat-headed cats (.50% explanation). In addition, we used different land cover maps (GLC2000, GlobCover and SarVision LLC for Borneo), information on protected areas and regional human population density data to extract suitable habitats from the potential distribution predicted by the MaxEnt model. Between 54% and 68% of suitable habitat has already been converted to unsuitable land cover types (e.g. croplands, plantations), and only between 10% and 20% of suitable land cover is categorised as fully protected according to the IUCN criteria. The remaining habitats are highly fragmented and only a few larger forest patches remain. Conclusion/Significance: Based on our findings, we recommend that future conservation efforts for the flat-headed cat should focus on the identified remaining key localities and be implemented through a continuous dialogue between local stakeholders, conservationists and scientists to ensure its long-term survival. The flat-headed cat can serve as a flagship species for the protection of several other endangered species associated with the threatened tropical lowland forests and surface fresh-water sources in this region