Examining the vulnerability of localized reforestation strategies to climate change at a macroscale.

Climate change is altering the nature and condition of vast areas in the boreal forest of Canada. There are great uncertainties concerning impacts on the forest, along with how policy and economic responses will translate effectively between local and macroscales. In particular, planting tree seedlings with improved characteristics following harvesting is one localized response strategy considered essential by policymakers.

Proton Transfer and Tautomerism in 2-Aminopurine-Thymine and Pyrrolocytosine-Guanine Base Pairs.

Pyrrolocytosine (PC) and 2-aminopurine (2AP) are fluorescent nucleobase analogues of the DNA nucleobases cytosine and adenine, respectively, and form base pairs with guanine and thymine. Both fluorescent nucleobases are used extensively as probes for local structure in nucleic acids as the fluorescence properties of PC and 2AP are very sensitive to changes such as helix formation, although the reasons for this sensitivity are not clear. To address this question, ab initio calculations have been used to calculate energies, at the MP2 and CIS level, of three different tautomer pairings of PC-G, and two of 2AP-T, which can potentially be interconverted by double proton transfer between the bases.

Estimating water user demand for certification of forest watershed services.

Eco-certification is one solution to the common problem of verification of delivery of services in payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. Certification incurs costs, which may limit uptake, so it should be able to benefit users of certified services for it succeeds. In part to inform a project targeting expansion of the Forest Stewardship Council's forest management certification to include ecosystem services, we tested market demand for a potential certification scheme for watershed services.

Development of a systems-based in situ multiplex biomarker screening approach for the assessment of immunopathology and neural tissue plasticity in male rats after traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) pose a massive burden of disease and continue to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. A major obstacle in developing effective treatments is the lack of comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms that mediate tissue damage and recovery after TBI. As such, our work aims to highlight the development of a novel experimental platform capable of fully characterizing the underlying pathobiology that unfolds after TBI.

[Current Perceptions of Lipofilling on the Basis of the New Guideline on "Autologous Fat Grafting"].

Autologous fat transfer has recently become an increasingly popular surgical procedure and comprises harvesting, processing and transplantation of adipose tissue, as well as professional follow-up care. This method, as a surgical procedure, can be utilised for trauma-, disease- or age-related soft tissue volume deficits and soft tissue augmentation. As usage is increasing, but the variables of fat harvest, specific indications and fashion of fat transfer are poorly defined, there is a great demand for development of a guideline in the field of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery.

Vessel calibre and haemoglobin effects on pulse oximetry.

Despite its success as a clinical monitoring tool, pulse oximetry may be improved with respect to the need for empirical calibration and the reports of biases in readings associated with peripheral vasoconstriction and haemoglobin concentration. To effect this improvement, this work aims to improve the understanding of the photoplethysmography signal-as used by pulse oximeters-and investigates the effect of vessel calibre and haemoglobin concentration on pulse oximetry. The digital temperature and the transmission of a wide spectrum of light through the fingers of 57 people with known haemoglobin concentrations were measured and simulations of the transmission of that spectrum of light through finger models were performed.

Indolyl-3-acryloylglycine (IAG) is a putative diagnostic urinary marker for autism spectrum disorders.

Background: Autism is a heterogeneous pervasive developmental disorder with a poorly defined aetiology and pathophysiology. There are indications that the incidence of the disease is rising but still no definitive diagnostic biochemical markers have been isolated. Here we have addressed the hypothesis that urinary levels of trans -indolyl-3-acryloylglycine (IAG) are abnormal in patients diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared to age-matched controls.

The institutional design of forest certification standards initiatives and its influence on the role of science: the case of forest genetic resources.

In the 1990s a wide array of non-governmental certification initiatives emerged as a way to promote the sustainable management of resources in sectors such as fisheries and forestry. In this paper, we examine two related questions about these initiatives: how does the institutional design of certification initiatives affect the way science is used in the development of certification standards and in whose interest is science employed? Using the empirical case of forest certification and the specific standards various initiatives have created to address the management of forest genetic resources, we show how structural aspects of decision-making processes affects the standards adopted and the rationalization for their appropriateness. Two basic models of decision-making-stakeholder participation and technical expertise-are discussed in relation to three certification initiatives active in North America-the Canadian Standards Association, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council.

Implementing TQM.

Total quality management (TQM) is an organized, systematic approach to problem solving and continuous improvement. American corporations have found that TQM is an excellent way to improve competitiveness, lower operating costs, and improve productivity. Increasing numbers of laboratories are investigating the benefits of TQM.

Evaluation of a soft-handling computerized pneumatic tube specimen delivery system. Effects on analytical results and turnaround time.

A computerized pneumatic tube specimen delivery system with system-wide air cushion soft handling features was evaluated. There were no significant differences in values (largely normal) for components of a standard chemical profile or complete blood count in specimens delivered from the outpatient center or neonatal intensive care unit by pneumatic tube compared to couriers. The pneumatic tube system also did not affect values for pO2, pCO2, and pH over a wide range (pO2, 25 to 438 mmHg) in specimens sent from the operating room during cardiac surgery.

Mass spawning in tropical reef corals.

Synchronous multispecific spawning by a total of 32 coral species occurred a few nights after late spring full moons in 1981 and 1982 at three locations on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The data invalidate the generalization that most corals have internally fertilized, brooded planula larvae. In every species observed, gametes were released; external fertilization and development then followed.

The weather and deaths from pneumonia.

Changes in the weather are highly significantly correlated with changes in death rate from pneumonia but the association is not a simple one. Two apparently separate periods of weather change are negatively correlated with pneumonia. Both are centred around a time approximately a week before death but one is associated with periods of changed weather of about a week's duration and the other with long-term, probably seasonal, change.

Relationship of air temperature to various chemical, haematological, and haemostatic variables.

Results for biochemical and haematological variables have been correlated with data on atmospheric temperature in order to identify possible mechanisms through which low environmental temperature may increase mortality from myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular disease. With the exception of cholesterol, there were no associations in the case of several clinical chemistry variables, or of haemoglobin and related indices. With varying degrees of consistency among the sex and age groups studied, temperature was positively correlated with factor VII, antithrombin III, and cholesterol, and negatively correlated with fibrinolytic activity.

Environment, temperature and death rates.

Analysis of recorded monthly deaths in England and Wales shows a close association of death rates with external temperature in most diseases other than the cancers. Analysis of daily deaths in England and Wales and in New York shows the following relationships between temperature and deaths from myocardial infarction, strokes and pneumonia. Between -10 degrees and +20 degrees C mimimum temperature there is a nearly linear fall in deaths as the temperature rises.

Evaluation of vocal pitch in male transsexuals.

A 49-year-old male-to-female transsexual was administered voice therapy following surgery. Tape recordings were made of her speech prior to and each week during therapy. Selected sentences from these reocrdings were analyzed.

Relationships of temperature with death rates from all causes and from certain respiratory and arteriosclerotic diseases in different age groups.

Changes of temperature of short duration (2-10 days) and of longer duration (15 and more days) are associated with inverse changes in death rates in both respiratory infections (pneumonia and bronchitis) and in vascular diseases (myocardial infarction and cerebral vascular accidents). These relationships are less or absent in younger subjects and marked in the elderly. The temperature on the day of death is less relevant to the death rate than that on earlier days and the particular days which are most relevant differ in the different conditions.