Groundwater methane (CH) in areas of fossil fuel development has been a recent focus of study as high CH concentrations pose water quality concerns and potential explosive hazards. In 2013, a provincial study in Nova Scotia identified areas with elevated groundwater CH. However, due to limited data, the specific sources and local distribution of CH in those areas remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman activities, from resource extraction to recreation, are increasing global connectivity, especially to less-disturbed and previously inaccessible places. Such activities necessitate road networks and vehicles. Vehicles can transport reproductive plant propagules long distances, thereby increasing the risk of invasive plant species transport and dispersal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSuppressing cytokine responses has frequently been shown to have promising therapeutic effects for many chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, the severe side effects associated with the long-term use of current treatments, such as allergic reactions and increased risk of stroke, have focused attention towards the targeting of intracellular signaling mechanisms, such as NF-κB, that regulate inflammation. We synthesized a series of non-natural aurone derivatives and investigated their ability to suppress pro-inflammatory signaling in human monocyte (THP-1) and murine macrophage-like (RAW 267.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvasive plant species that have the potential to alter fire regimes have significant impacts on native ecosystems. Concern that pine invasions in the Southern Hemisphere will increase fire activity and severity and subsequently promote further pine invasion prompted us to examine the potential for feedbacks between Pinus contorta invasions and fire in Patagonia and New Zealand. We determined how fuel loads and fire effects were altered by P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn unidentified myxosporean parasite (CKX) is described from the kidney of approximately 80% of spawning coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum) in British Columbia, Canada and Washington, United States of America. Morphological features were described using light and electron microscopy. Sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified 18S ribosomal RNA gene and in situ hybridisation were used to further characterise CKX.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe myxosporean parasite Parvicapsula minibicornis is described from adult sockeye and coho salmon during spawning migrations in tributaries of the Columbia River in Canada and the United States. These observations extend the known distribution of this parasite from the Fraser River drainage basin. The parasite was identified in Columbia River salmonids using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by in situ hybridization, but unlike in Fraser River salmon, it was not observed in conventional histological preparations of the kidney.
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