Quantifying the environmental limits to fire spread in grassy ecosystems.

Modeling fire spread as an infection process is intuitive: An ignition lights a patch of fuel, which infects its neighbor, and so on. Infection models produce nonlinear thresholds, whereby fire spreads only when fuel connectivity and infection probability are sufficiently high. These thresholds are fundamental both to managing fire and to theoretical models of fire spread, whereas applied fire models more often apply quasi-empirical approaches.

Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: Have we overlooked micronutrients?

Fertilisation experiments have demonstrated that nutrient availability is a key determinant of biomass production and carbon sequestration in grasslands. However, the influence of nutrients in explaining spatial variation in grassland biomass production has rarely been assessed. Using a global dataset comprising 72 sites on six continents, we investigated which of 16 soil factors that shape nutrient availability associate most strongly with variation in grassland aboveground biomass.

Negative effects of nitrogen override positive effects of phosphorus on grassland legumes worldwide.

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment is driving global biodiversity decline and modifying ecosystem functions. Theory suggests that plant functional types that fix atmospheric nitrogen have a competitive advantage in nitrogen-poor soils, but lose this advantage with increasing nitrogen supply. By contrast, the addition of phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients may benefit such species in low-nutrient environments by enhancing their nitrogen-fixing capacity.

Author Correction: Leaf nutrients, not specific leaf area, are consistent indicators of elevated nutrient inputs.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Traits linked with species invasiveness and community invasibility vary with time, stage and indicator of invasion in a long-term grassland experiment.

Much uncertainty remains about traits linked with successful invasion - the establishment and spread of non-resident species into existing communities. Using a 20-year experiment, where 50 non-resident (but mostly native) grassland plant species were sown into savannah plots, we ask how traits linked with invasion depend on invasion stage (establishment, spread), indicator of invasion success (occupancy, relative abundance), time, environmental conditions, propagule rain, and traits of invaders and invaded communities. Trait data for 164 taxa showed that invader occupancy was primarily associated with traits of invaders, traits of recipient communities, and invader-community interactions.

Leaf nutrients, not specific leaf area, are consistent indicators of elevated nutrient inputs.

Leaf traits are frequently measured in ecology to provide a 'common currency' for predicting how anthropogenic pressures impact ecosystem function. Here, we test whether leaf traits consistently respond to experimental treatments across 27 globally distributed grassland sites across 4 continents. We find that specific leaf area (leaf area per unit mass)-a commonly measured morphological trait inferring shifts between plant growth strategies-did not respond to up to four years of soil nutrient additions.

Transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery at 1.5T: a technical note.

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound is one of the emerging non-invasive technologies offering both image guidance and thermal monitoring. In recent years transcranial application of this technology is starting to impact heavily the neuroscience field. We present here the imaging protocol and the technological methods successfully used with a transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound system certified for clinical treatments of functional neurological disorders, integrated for the first time with a 1.

Herbivory and eutrophication mediate grassland plant nutrient responses across a global climatic gradient.

Plant stoichiometry, the relative concentration of elements, is a key regulator of ecosystem functioning and is also being altered by human activities. In this paper we sought to understand the global drivers of plant stoichiometry and compare the relative contribution of climatic vs. anthropogenic effects.

Climate warming promotes species diversity, but with greater taxonomic redundancy, in complex environments.

Climate warming is predicted to alter species interactions, which could potentially lead to extinction events. However, there is an ongoing debate whether the effects of warming on biodiversity may be moderated by biodiversity itself. We tested warming effects on soil nematodes, one of the most diverse and abundant metazoans in terrestrial ecosystems, along a gradient of environmental complexity created by a gradient of plant species richness.

Mechanical Complications Associated with Angled Screw Channel Restorations.

The aim of this study was to identify mechanical complications associated with Nobel Biocare's angled screw channel (ASC) restorations following provision of the definitive crown. All ASC restorations provided between 1 January 2014 and 19 January 2016 were identified. Patients' clinical records were reviewed for demographic details, implant characteristics, occlusal considerations, and complications.

Addition of multiple limiting resources reduces grassland diversity.

Niche dimensionality provides a general theoretical explanation for biodiversity-more niches, defined by more limiting factors, allow for more ways that species can coexist. Because plant species compete for the same set of limiting resources, theory predicts that addition of a limiting resource eliminates potential trade-offs, reducing the number of species that can coexist. Multiple nutrient limitation of plant production is common and therefore fertilization may reduce diversity by reducing the number or dimensionality of belowground limiting factors.

Shifting grassland plant community structure drives positive interactive effects of warming and diversity on aboveground net primary productivity.

Ecosystems worldwide are increasingly impacted by multiple drivers of environmental change, including climate warming and loss of biodiversity. We show, using a long-term factorial experiment, that plant diversity loss alters the effects of warming on productivity. Aboveground primary productivity was increased by both high plant diversity and warming, and, in concert, warming (≈1.

Evaluation of MALDI-ToF as a method for the identification of bacteria in the veterinary diagnostic laboratory.

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation-Time of Flight (MALDI-ToF) Mass Spectrometry with Bruker MALDI Biotyper software was evaluated as a method for identifying veterinary bacteria. For 620 isolates (~100 bacterial species), identification by MALDI-ToF and non-16S rDNA methods (mainly phenotypic/biochemical) agreed to species-level (95.3%) and to species/genus-level (100%), but in the absence of 16S rDNA as a gold standard.

Plant diversity effects on soil microbial functions and enzymes are stronger than warming in a grassland experiment.

Anthropogenic changes in biodiversity and atmospheric temperature significantly influence ecosystem processes. However, little is known about potential interactive effects of plant diversity and warming on essential ecosystem properties, such as soil microbial functions and element cycling. We studied the effects of orthogonal manipulations of plant diversity (one, four, and 16 species) and warming (ambient, +1.

Plant species' origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands.

Exotic species dominate many communities; however the functional significance of species' biogeographic origin remains highly contentious. This debate is fuelled in part by the lack of globally replicated, systematic data assessing the relationship between species provenance, function and response to perturbations. We examined the abundance of native and exotic plant species at 64 grasslands in 13 countries, and at a subset of the sites we experimentally tested native and exotic species responses to two fundamental drivers of invasion, mineral nutrient supplies and vertebrate herbivory.

Development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid and sensitive identification of Arcanobacterium pluranimalium.

In the present study 28 Arcanobacterium pluranimalium strains isolated from various origins could successfully be identified with a newly designed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay based on gene pla encoding pluranimaliumlysin. No comparable reaction could be observed with control strains representing five species of genus Arcanobacterium and five species of genus Trueperella. The presented pla LAMP assay might allow a reliable and low cost identification of this bacterial pathogen also in laboratories with less specified equipment.

Grassland productivity limited by multiple nutrients.

Terrestrial ecosystem productivity is widely accepted to be nutrient limited(1). Although nitrogen (N) is deemed a key determinant of aboveground net primary production (ANPP)(2,3), the prevalence of co-limitation by N and phosphorus (P) is increasingly recognized(4-8). However, the extent to which terrestrial productivity is co-limited by nutrients other than N and P has remained unclear.

Comparison of Biolog GEN III MicroStation semi-automated bacterial identification system with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing for the identification of bacteria of veterinary interest.

Recent advances in phenotypic and chemotaxonomic methods have improved the ability of systems to resolve bacterial identities at the species level. Key to the effective use of these systems is the ability to draw upon databases which can be augmented with new data gleaned from atypical or novel isolates. In this study we compared the performance of the Biolog GEN III identification system (hereafter, GEN III) with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing in the identification of isolates of veterinary interest.

Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation.

Human alterations to nutrient cycles and herbivore communities are affecting global biodiversity dramatically. Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level light, particularly in productive systems. Here we use experimental data spanning a globally relevant range of conditions to test the hypothesis that herbaceous plant species losses caused by eutrophication may be offset by increased light availability due to herbivory.

Attitudes of general dental practitioners to the maintenance of Locator retained implant overdentures.

Introduction: Locator retained implant overdentures are associated with a high incidence of prosthodontic complications. This study investigated whether general dental practitioners (GDPs) were willing to maintain these prostheses in primary dental care.

Method: A questionnaire was distributed to all GDPs referring patients for an implant assessment to the Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield between 1 January 2012 and 30 June 2012.

Identification of Arcanobacterium pluranimalium by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and, as novel target, by sequencing pluranimaliumlysin encoding gene pla.

In the present study 13 Arcanobacterium pluranimalium strains isolated from various animal origin could successfully be identified phenotypically by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and genotypically by sequencing 16S rDNA and the pluranimaliumlysin encoding gene pla. The detection of mass spectra by MALDI-TOF MS and the novel genotypic approach using gene pla might help to identify A. pluranimalium in future and might elucidate the role this species plays in infections of animals.

Treatment of the edentulous atrophic maxilla using zygomatic implants: evaluation of survival rates over 5-10 years.

The aim of this retrospective observational cohort study was to analyse and report the 5-10-year survival rates of endosseous zygomatic implants used in the rehabilitation of the atrophic maxilla. Forty-three consecutive zygomatic implant placements in 25 patients were evaluated over a 5-10-year period. All zygomatic implant surgery was carried out under general anaesthesia.

Predicting invasion in grassland ecosystems: is exotic dominance the real embarrassment of richness?

Invasions have increased the size of regional species pools, but are typically assumed to reduce native diversity. However, global-scale tests of this assumption have been elusive because of the focus on exotic species richness, rather than relative abundance. This is problematic because low invader richness can indicate invasion resistance by the native community or, alternatively, dominance by a single exotic species.

Life-history constraints in grassland plant species: a growth-defence trade-off is the norm.

Plant growth can be limited by resource acquisition and defence against consumers, leading to contrasting trade-off possibilities. The competition-defence hypothesis posits a trade-off between competitive ability and defence against enemies (e.g.

Prosthodontic maintenance requirements of implant-retained overdentures using the locator attachment system.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prosthodontic maintenance requirements of patients rehabilitated with maxillary and mandibular implant-retained overdentures using the Locator Attachment System by retrospectively reviewing case records. Fifty patients made 112 unplanned return visits over a 3-year period. The most common reasons for returning were denture adjustments (n = 45), inadequate retention (n = 39), and loosening of the implant abutments (n = 14).