Functional Landscape Connectivity Of Greater Sage Grouse Habitat In A Multiple Use Landscape

Maintaining connectivity of sage-grouse habitat is critical to managing sage-grouse populations in the presence of widespread human disturbance. We used an empirical approach to model connectivity of a landscape based on resource selection of free-ranging GPS-collared greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in a natural gas field in central Wyoming. We analyzed resource selection during three movement states (encamped, traveling, and relocating) and incorporated turning angle to identify features that functioned as barriers or conduits to movement. To illustrate application of the results we used the resource selection model to create spatially-explicit predictive maps identifying areas that generally provided large amounts of high quality ‘movement habitat.’ We found that both males and females selected for vegetation variables at multiple spatial scales. When traveling or relocating, males and females tended to avoid natural gas and oil wells and associated infrastructure and avoided areas with high topographic roughness within 800m. High topographic roughness was a barrier for traveling males. Relocating females were more likely to travel in a straight direction through areas of high road density and steep slopes. The predictive maps validated well using independent GPS location data. These results provide insight into habitat preferences of sage-grouse and can be used for both general and site-specific guidance on identifying habitats preferred or avoided during moderate and long distance movements of sage-grouse. When combined with critical seasonal use maps, e.g., nesting/brooding habitat and winter range, land managers could delineate areas of high value for connectivity of critical seasonal use areas

Molecular mechanisms of antitumor activity of PAMAM dendrimer conjugates with anticancer drugs and a monoclonal antibody

Taxanes are considered fundamental drugs in the treatment of breast cancer, but despite the similarities, docetaxel (doc) and paclitaxel (ptx) work differently. For this reason, it is interesting to identify mechanisms of antitumor activity of PAMAM dendrimer conjugates that carry docetaxel or paclitaxel and monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, specifically targeted to cells which overexpressed HER-2. For this purpose, the impact on the level of reactive oxygen species, the mitochondrial membrane potential, cell cycle distribution and the activity of caspases-3/7, -8 and -9 of PAMAM-doc-trastuzumab and PAMAM-ptx-trastuzumab conjugates was determined and compared with free docetaxel and paclitaxel toward HER-2-positive (SKBR-3) and negative (MCF-7) human breast cancer cell lines. Moreover, apoptosis and necrosis were studied using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, respectively. Our studies show the complexity of the potential mechanism of cytotoxic action of PAMAM-drug-trastuzumab conjugates that should be sought as a resultant of oxidative stress, mitochondrial activation of the caspase cascade and the HER-2 receptor blockade

Prioritizing Conservation of Ungulate Calving Resources in Multiple-Use Landscapes

BACKGROUND: Conserving animal populations in places where human activity is increasing is an ongoing challenge in many parts of the world. We investigated how human activity interacted with maternal status and individual variation in behavior to affect reliability of spatially-explicit models intended to guide conservation of critical ungulate calving resources. We studied Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) that occupy a region where 2900 natural gas wells have been drilled. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We present novel applications of generalized additive modeling to predict maternal status based on movement, and of random-effects resource selection models to provide population and individual-based inference on the effects of maternal status and human activity. We used a 2×2 factorial design (treatment vs. control) that included elk that were either parturient or non-parturient and in areas either with or without industrial development. Generalized additive models predicted maternal status (parturiency) correctly 93% of the time based on movement. Human activity played a larger role than maternal status in shaping resource use; elk showed strong spatiotemporal patterns of selection or avoidance and marked individual variation in developed areas, but no such pattern in undeveloped areas. This difference had direct consequences for landscape-level conservation planning. When relative probability of use was calculated across the study area, there was disparity throughout 72-88% of the landscape in terms of where conservation intervention should be prioritized depending on whether models were based on behavior in developed areas or undeveloped areas. Model validation showed that models based on behavior in developed areas had poor predictive accuracy, whereas the model based on behavior in undeveloped areas had high predictive accuracy. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: By directly testing for differences between developed and undeveloped areas, and by modeling resource selection in a random-effects framework that provided individual-based inference, we conclude that: 1) amplified selection or avoidance behavior and individual variation, as responses to increasing human activity, complicate conservation planning in multiple-use landscapes, and 2) resource selection behavior in places where human activity is predictable or less dynamic may provide a more reliable basis from which to prioritize conservation action

Identifying and Prioritizing Greater Sage-Grouse Nesting and Brood-Rearing Habitat for Conservation in Human-Modified Landscapes

BACKGROUND: Balancing animal conservation and human use of the landscape is an ongoing scientific and practical challenge throughout the world. We investigated reproductive success in female greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) relative to seasonal patterns of resource selection, with the larger goal of developing a spatially-explicit framework for managing human activity and sage-grouse conservation at the landscape level. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We integrated field-observation, Global Positioning Systems telemetry, and statistical modeling to quantify the spatial pattern of occurrence and risk during nesting and brood-rearing. We linked occurrence and risk models to provide spatially-explicit indices of habitat-performance relationships. As part of the analysis, we offer novel biological information on resource selection during egg-laying, incubation, and night. The spatial pattern of occurrence during all reproductive phases was driven largely by selection or avoidance of terrain features and vegetation, with little variation explained by anthropogenic features. Specifically, sage-grouse consistently avoided rough terrain, selected for moderate shrub cover at the patch level (within 90 m(2)), and selected for mesic habitat in mid and late brood-rearing phases. In contrast, risk of nest and brood failure was structured by proximity to anthropogenic features including natural gas wells and human-created mesic areas, as well as vegetation features such as shrub cover. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Risk in this and perhaps other human-modified landscapes is a top-down (i.e., human-mediated) process that would most effectively be minimized by developing a better understanding of specific mechanisms (e.g., predator subsidization) driving observed patterns, and using habitat-performance indices such as those developed herein for spatially-explicit guidance of conservation intervention. Working under the hypothesis that industrial activity structures risk by enhancing predator abundance or effectiveness, we offer specific recommendations for maintaining high-performance habitat and reducing low-performance habitat, particularly relative to the nesting phase, by managing key high-risk anthropogenic features such as industrial infrastructure and water developments

Dialog w Sonacie na dwoje skrzypiec op. 10 Henryka Mikołaja Góreckiego z perspektywy wykonawcy

Celem artykułu jest określenie specyfiki dialogu w Sonacie na dwoje skrzypiec op. 10 Henryka Mikołaja Góreckiego z punktu widzenia wykonawcy. Dzieło to, choć powstało we wczesnym okresie twórczości kompozytora, należy do znaczących przykładów tego gatunku w muzyce europej- skiej XX wieku. W związku z deklarowanym celem zbadano różnorodne wersje dialogu występu- jące w niniejszej sonacie. Problem dialogu w omawianym utworze ujęty jest w kontekście stylu indywidualnego kompozytora. W celu rozwiązania głównej problematyki przeprowadzono analizę wszystkich trzech części cyklu sonatowego pod kątem różnych form dialogu pomiędzy dwojgiem skrzypiec. Sonata Góreckiego reprezentuje bardzo interesujące typy dialogicznej komunikacji, przekazując różne treści emocjonalne: od rywalizacji do harmonii, od ekspresji – niekiedy krańcowo ostro wy- powiedzianej – do wspólnej refleksji, od groteski do kontemplacji. Utwór ten cechuje bogata kolorystyka brzmieniowa, którą Mistrz osiąga poprzez efekty sonorystyczne oraz intensywne wykorzystanie współbrzmień dysonansowych i kontrastów dynamicznych. Dzieło to odznacza się także doskonałym wyczuciem przestrzeni dźwiękowej, w której poruszają się soliści. Efekty zmian przestrzennych dają m.in. raptowne przerzucenia z najniższych rejestrów do najwyższych. „Instrumentalnemu dramatowi” towarzyszą barwne „dekoracje”, z typową dla Góreckiego szeroko rozpiętą skalą uczuć. Partie dwóch skrzypiec prowadzą narrację polifoniczną. Wypowiedzi każdego „bohatera” otrzymują różną reakcję u swego vis-à-vis, w ostatniej zaś części łączą się w pełnym ekspresji niepohamowanym ruchu tanecznym. Właśnie taka różnorodność materiału muzycznego, dialogi solistów w różnych kategoriach ujęć, zapewniają temu dziełu intensywność empatycznych przeżyć, wywoływanych zarówno u słuchaczy, jak i u wykonawców.The article aims at defining the specificity of dialogue in Sonata for two violins Op. 10 by Hen- ryk Mikołaj Górecki from the point of view of the performer. This piece, though created in the early period of the composer’s career, belongs to important examples of this genre in 20th century Euro- pean music. With regard to the declared aim, various versions of the dialogue in this sonata were examined. The issue of dialogue in the discussed piece is presented in the context of the individual composer’s style. In order to address the core matter, the analysis of all three movements of the sonata cycle was carried out in terms of different forms of dialogue between the two violins. Górecki’s Sonata represents very interesting types of dialogic communication, conveying various emotional contents: from rivalry to harmony, from expression – sometimes utterly harsh – to joint reflection, from grotesque to contemplation. This piece features a rich sound coloring, which the Master achieves through sonoristic effects and extensive use of dissonant consonances and dynamic contrasts. The piece shows also an excellent sense of the sound space in which the soloists perform. Spatial changes effects are achieved by means of, among other things, rapid shifts from the lowest registers to the highest ones. The „instrumental drama” is accompanied by colorful „dec- orations”, with a wide range of feelings typical of Górecki. The parts of two violins carry out a polyphonic narration. The voices of each „protagonist” receive a different reaction in their vis-à-vis, and in the last part they unite in an expressive, unrestrained dance movement. It is precisely this variety of musical material and the dialogues of the soloists in different categories of perspectives that provide this piece with an intensity of empathic experiences, evoked both in listeners and in performers