Wildfire Risk Management on a Landscape with Public and Private Ownership: Who Pays?

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Confined compression of collagen hydrogels

Reconstituted collagen hydrogels are often used for in vitro studies of cell-matrix interaction and as scaffolds for tissue engineering. Understanding the mechanical and transport behaviours of collagen hydrogels is therefore extremely important, albeit difficult due to their very high water content (typically > 99.5%). In the present study the mechanical behaviour of collagen hydrogels in confined compression was investigated using biphasic theory (J. Biomech. Eng. 102 (1980) 73), to ascertain whether the technique is sufficiently sensitive to determine differences in the characteristics of hydrogels of between 0.2% and 0.4% collagen. Peak stress, equilibrium stress, aggregate modulus and hydraulic permeability of the hydrogels exhibited sensitivity to collagen content, demonstrating that the technique is clearly able to discriminate between hydrogels with small differences in collagen content and may also be sensitive to factors that affect matrix remodelling. The results also offer additional insight into the deformation-dependent permeability of collagen hydrogels. This study suggests that confined compression, together with biphasic theory, is a suitable technique for assessing the mechanical properties of collagen hydrogels

Madrid: Literary Fiction and the Imaginary Urban Destination

This study selects novels from French and Spanish language traditions, which may not be available to English-speakers, in order to determine if specific aspects throw light on our understanding of Madrid as a destination. Marc Lambron's L'Impromptu de Madrid and Antonio Munoz Molina’s Mysteries of Madrid are taken as proof of the influence the narrative can exert on social daily life and consumption. Narrative foregrounds the fictions which are at stake in imagining the city as destination and also provides a vehicle for presenting the much broader social forces that converge in the author at the time of imagining and writing

A Multinational Analysis of Mutations and Heterogeneity in PZase, RpsA, and PanD Associated with Pyrazinamide Resistance in M/XDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Pyrazinamide (PZA) is an important first-line drug in all existing and new tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimens. PZA-resistance in M. tuberculosis is increasing, especially among M/XDR cases. Noted issues with PZA Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) have driven the search for alternative tests. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of PZA molecular diagnostics in M/XDR TB cases. A set of 296, mostly XDR, clinical M. tuberculosis isolates from four countries were subjected to DST for eight drugs, confirmatory Wayne's assay, and whole-genome sequencing. Three genes implicated in PZA resistance, pncA, rpsA, and panD were investigated. Assuming all non-synonymous mutations cause resistance, we report 90% sensitivity and 65% specificity for a pncA-based molecular test. The addition of rpsA and panD potentially provides 2% increase in sensitivity. Molecular heterogeneity in pncA was associated with resistance and should be evaluated as a diagnostic tool. Mutations near the N-terminus and C-terminus of PZase were associated with East-Asian and Euro-American lineages, respectively. Finally, Euro-American isolates are most likely to have a wild-type PZase and escape molecular detection. Overall, the 8-10% resistance without markers may point to alternative mechanisms of resistance. Confirmatory mutagenesis may improve the disconcertingly low specificity but reduce sensitivity since not all mutations may cause resistance

Calculation of Precipitable Water for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy Aircraft (SOFIA): Airplane in the Night Sky

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is the new generation airborne observatory station based at NASA s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, Palmdale, CA, to study the universe. Since the observatory detects infrared energy, water vapor is a concern in the atmosphere due to its known capacity to absorb infrared energy emitted by astronomical objects. Although SOFIA is hoping to fly above 99% of water vapor in the atmosphere it is still possible to affect astronomical observation. Water vapor is one of the toughest parameter to measure in the atmosphere, several atmosphere modeling are used to calculate water vapor loading. The water vapor loading, or Precipitable water, is being calculated by Matlab along the planned flight path. Over time, these results will help SOFIA to plan flights to regions of lower water vapor loading and hopefully improve the imagery collection of these astronomical features

Spawning, egg development, and early life history dynamics of arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) in the Gulf of Alaska

Arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) has the highest biomass of any groundfish species in the Gulf of Alaska, is a voracious predator of age 1 walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), and is a major component in the diet of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Owing to its ecological importance in the Gulf of Alaska and the limited information available on its reproduction, interest has intensified in describing its spawning and early life history. A study was undertaken in late January–February 2001–2003 in the Gulf of Alaska to obtain information on adult spawning location, depth distribution, and sexual maturity, and to obtain fertilized eggs for laboratory studies. Adults were found 200–600 m deep east of Kodiak Island over the outer continental shelf and upper slope, and southwest along the shelf break to the Shumagin Islands. Most ripe females (oocytes extruded with light pressure) were found at 400 m and most ripe males (milt extruded with light pressure) were found at depths ≥450 m. Eggs were fertilized and incubated in the laboratory at 3.0°, 4.5°, and 6.0°C. Eggs were reared to hatching, but larvae did not survive long enough to complete yolk absorption and develop pigment. Eggs were staged according to morphological hallmarks and incubation data were used to produce a stage duration table and a regression model to estimate egg age based on water temperature and developmental stage. Arrowtooth flounder eggs (1.58–1.98 mm in diameter) were collected in ichthyoplankton surveys along the continental shelf edge, primarily at depths ≥400 m. Early-stage eggs were found in tows that sampled to depths of ≥450 m. Larvae, which hatch between 3.9 and 4.8 mm standard length, increased in abundance with depth. Observations on arrowtooth flounder eggs and early-stage larvae were used to complete the description of the published partial developmental series.(PDF file contains 34 pages.

Guide to the identification of larval and early juvenile pricklebacks (Perciformes: Zoarcoidei: Stichaeidae) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea

Stichaeidae, commonly referred to as pricklebacks, are intertidal and subtidal fishes primarily of the North Pacific Ocean. Broad distribution in relatively inaccessible and undersampled habitats has contributed to a general lack of information about this family. In this study, descriptions of early life history stages are presented for 25 species representing 18 genera of stichaeid fishes from the northeastern Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean Basin. Six of these species also occur in the North Atlantic Ocean. Larval stages of 16 species are described for the first time. Additional information or illustrations intended to augment previous descriptions are provided for nine species. For most taxa, we present adult and larval distributions, descriptions of morphometric, meristic, and pigmentation characters, and species comparisons, and we provide illustrations for preflexion through postflexion or transformation stages. New counts of meristic features are reported for several species

The impact of buffer zone size and management on illegal extraction, park protection and enforcement

Many protected areas or parks in developing countries have buffer zones at their boundaries to achieve the dual goals of protecting park resources and providing resource benefits to neighbouring people. Despite the prevalence of these zoning policies, few behavioural models of people’s buffer zone use inform the sizing and management of those zones. This paper uses a spatially explicit resource extraction model to examine the impact of buffer zone size and management on extraction by local people, both legal and illegal, and the impact of that extraction on forest quality in the park’s core and buffer zone. The results demonstrate trade-offs between the level of enforcement, the size of a buffer zone, and the amount of illegal extraction in the park; and describe implications for “enrichment” of buffer zones and evaluating patterns of forest degradation

Systematic comparison of monoclonal versus polyclonal antibodies for mapping histone modifications by ChIP-seq.

BackgroundThe robustness of ChIP-seq datasets is highly dependent upon the antibodies used. Currently, polyclonal antibodies are the standard despite several limitations: They are non-renewable, vary in performance between lots and need to be validated with each new lot. In contrast, monoclonal antibody lots are renewable and provide consistent performance. To increase ChIP-seq standardization, we investigated whether monoclonal antibodies could replace polyclonal antibodies. We compared monoclonal antibodies that target five key histone modifications (H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27ac and H3K27me3) to their polyclonal counterparts in both human and mouse cells.ResultsOverall performance was highly similar for four monoclonal/polyclonal pairs, including when we used two distinct lots of the same monoclonal antibody. In contrast, the binding patterns for H3K27ac differed substantially between polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. However, this was most likely due to the distinct immunogen used rather than the clonality of the antibody.ConclusionsAltogether, we found that monoclonal antibodies as a class perform equivalently to polyclonal antibodies for the detection of histone post-translational modifications in both human and mouse. Accordingly, we recommend the use of monoclonal antibodies in ChIP-seq experiments

Evaluation of fixed sources of variation and estimation of genetic parameters for incidence of bovine respiratory disease in preweaned calves and feedlot cattle

The primary objective of this study was to estimate variance components and heritability of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) incidence in beef calves before weaning and during the finishing phase. The second objective was to investigate the impact of BRD incidence and treatment frequency on performance and carcass traits. Bovine respiratory disease is the biggest and most costly health challenge facing the cattle industry. The 2 populations used consisted of 1,519 preweaned calves and 3,277 head of feedlot cattle. The incidence rate of BRD in preweaned calves was 11.39%, and among treated cattle, 82.1% were treated once, 13.9% were treated twice, and 4.0% were treated 3 times or more. The incidence of BRD (P = 0.35) and the number of treatments (P = 0.77) had no significant effect on weaning BW. Heritability estimates of the entire preweaned population for BRD resistance and number of treatments were 0.11 ± 0.06 and 0.08 ± 0.05, respectively. The genetic correlation estimates for BRD incidence with weaning BW and birth BW were low (−0.02 ± 0.32 and 0.07 ± 0.27, respectively). The same estimate for the number of BRD treatments with weaning BW and birth BW was 0.25 ± 0.35 and 0.30 ± 0.27, respectively. The observed BRD incidence rate for feedlot cattle was observed at 9.43%. Incidence of BRD significantly (P \u3c 0.01) decreased overall and acclimation ADG by 0.06 ± 0.01 kg/d and 0.28 ± 0.03 kg/d, respectively. Carcass traits were also significantly (P \u3c 0.05) affected by BRD incidence; untreated cattle had a 9.1 ± 1.7-kg heavier HCW. Results were similar in the analysis of treatment frequency. The heritability estimate of BRD incidence and the number of treatments were 0.07 ± 0.04 and 0.02 ± 0.03, respectively. Estimates of genetic correlations of BRD incidence with production traits were −0.63 ± 0.22 for acclimation ADG, −0.04 ± 0.23 for on-test ADG, −0.31 ± 0.21 for overall ADG, −0.39 ± 0.21 for final BW, −0.22 ± 0.22 for HCW, −0.03 ± 0.22 for LM area, 0.24 ± 0.25 for fat, and −0.43 ± 0.20 for marbling score. Similar results for the number of treatments and production traits were −1.00 ± 0.68 for acclimation ADG, −0.04 ± 0.39 for on-test ADG, −0.47 ± 0.41 for overall ADG, −0.66 ± 0.40 for final BW, −0.58 ± 0.45 for HCW, −0.12 ± 0.38 for LM area, 0.42 ± 0.50 for fat, and −0.32 ± 0.37 for marbling score. Because of the high economic cost associated with BRD incidence, even these modest estimates for heritability of BRD resistance should be considered for incorporation into beef cattle breeding programs