Intraspecific variation in landform engineering across a restored salt marsh shoreline.

Ecosystem engineers that modify landforms can be valuable tools for restoring habitat, but their use has frequently resulted in unanticipated outcomes. Departures from expectations might arise because applications discount the possibility that geomorphic processes are influenced by heritable phenotypic variation. We conducted a field-scale common garden experiment to assess whether shoreline erosion reflects intraspecific variation in the landform engineer .

2 + 2 (+ 2) = 4: A new approach for appendicular muscle mass assessment by ultrasound.

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop new appendicular lean mass (ALM) prediction models based on ultrasound and anthropometric measurements.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional assessment of a subsample from a population-based study (COMO VAI?), conducted with community-dwelling individuals ≥60 y of age living in a southern Brazilian city. ALM was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

The dynamic trophic niche of an island bird of prey.

Optimal foraging theory predicts an inverse relationship between the availability of preferred prey and niche width in animals. Moreover, when individuals within a population have identical prey preferences and preferred prey is scarce, a nested pattern of trophic niche is expected if opportunistic and selective individuals can be identified. Here, we examined intraspecific variation in the trophic niche of a resident population of striated caracara () on Isla de los Estados (Staten Island), Argentina, using pellet and stable isotope analyses.

Resource recovery from low strength wastewater in a bioelectrochemical desalination process.

In this research, low strength synthetic wastewaters with chemical oxygen demand less than 300 mg L were treated at different concentrations in a bioelectrochemical desalination process. A process optimization model was utilized to study the performance of the photosynthetic bioelectrochemical desalination process. The variables include substrate (chemical oxygen demand) concentration, total dissolved solids, and microalgae biomass concentration in the cathode chamber.

Mercury concentrations in store-bought shrimp.

Most mercury exposure to humans comes from consumption of fish and shellfish; however, mercury concentrations are not known for all available seafood, particularly shrimp. Our objective was to estimate the concentration of mercury in a variety of store-bought shrimp and then to compare total mercury concentrations to other information such as brand, harvest type, and total fat. We sampled a total of  = 159 shrimp from 10 different brands.

Geometry and Topology of Estuary and Braided River Channel Networks Automatically Extracted From Topographic Data.

Automatic extraction of channel networks from topography in systems with multiple interconnected channels, like braided rivers and estuaries, remains a major challenge in hydrology and geomorphology. Representing channelized systems as networks provides a mathematical framework for analyzing transport and geomorphology. In this paper, we introduce a mathematically rigorous methodology and software for extracting channel network topology and geometry from digital elevation models (DEMs) and analyze such channel networks in estuaries and braided rivers.

Exercise plus caloric restriction lowers soluble RAGE in adults with chronic kidney disease.

Introduction: The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has increased in recent years. CKD is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, although the mechanism remains unclear. Elevated soluble form of the receptor for advanced glycation end products ( RAGE) is related to proinflammatory signaling pathways that may promote diabetic nephropathy and vascular dysfunction.

Population epigenetic divergence exceeds genetic divergence in the Eastern oyster in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

Populations may respond to environmental heterogeneity via evolutionary divergence or phenotypic plasticity. While evolutionary divergence occurs through DNA sequence differences among populations, plastic divergence among populations may be generated by changes in the epigenome. Here, we present the results of a genome-wide comparison of DNA methylation patterns and genetic structure among four populations of Eastern oyster () in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Remediation of crude oil-contaminated coastal marsh soil: Integrated effect of biochar, rhamnolipid biosurfactant and nitrogen application.

Decontamination of oil spills from coastal wetland soils requires a delicate approach. A microcosm study was carried out to investigate the impact of integrated application of biochar, rhamnolipid (RL) biosurfactant and nitrogen (N) on petroleum hydrocarbon remediation in a Louisiana coastal saline marsh and their impact on soil microbial community. The soil was artificially contaminated with crude oil and subjected to treatments of different combinations of sugarcane residue biochar, RL, and coated urea.

Metapopulation dynamics and foraging plasticity in a highly vagile seabird, the southern rockhopper penguin.

Population connectivity is driven by individual dispersal potential and modulated by natal philopatry. In seabirds, high vagility facilitates dispersal yet philopatry is also common, with foraging area overlap often correlated with population connectivity. We assess the interplay between these processes by studying past and current connectivity and foraging niche overlap among southern rockhopper penguin colonies of the coast of southern South America using genomic and stable isotope analyses.

Opening the door to greater phylogeographic inference in Southeast Asia: Comparative genomic study of five codistributed rainforest bird species using target capture and historical DNA.

Indochina and Sundaland are biologically diverse, interconnected regions of Southeast Asia with complex geographic histories. Few studies have examined phylogeography of bird species that span the two regions because of inadequate population sampling. To determine how geographic barriers/events and disparate dispersal potential have influenced the population structure, gene flow, and demographics of species that occupy the entire area, we studied five largely codistributed rainforest bird species: , , , , and .

Mechanistic basis for tuning iridium hydride photochemistry from H evolution to hydride transfer hydrodechlorination.

The photochemistry of metal hydride complexes is dominated by H evolution, limiting access to reductive transformations based on photochemical hydride transfer. In this article, the innate H evolution photochemistry of the iridium hydride complexes [Cp*Ir(bpy-OMe)H] (, bpy-OMe = 4,4'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine) and [Cp*Ir(bpy)H] (, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) is diverted towards photochemical hydrodechlorination. Net hydride transfer from and to dichloromethane produces chloromethane with high selectivity and exceptional photochemical quantum yield ( ≤ 1.

Change and Stability in Sibling Physical Fitness: The Portuguese Sibling Study.

Purpose: This study aims to 1) describe mean changes in muscular and motor fitness components in sibships over 2 yr, 2) analyze individual tracking of fitness within sibships, 3) investigate sibling resemblance in fitness over time, and 4) examine the joint influence of biological, behavioral, and familial characteristics on fitness.

Methods: The sample comprises 166 Portuguese biological sibling pairs (brother-brother, sister-sister, brother-sister) age 9-17 yr assessed at baseline and 2 yr later. Physical fitness components were measured with standardized tests.

Sulfur-Deficient Porous SnS Microflowers as Superior Anode for Alkaline Ion Batteries.

SnS as a high energy anode material has attracted extensive research interest recently. However, the fast capacity decay and low rate performance in alkaline-ion batteries associated with repeated volume variation and low electrical conductivity plague them from practical application. Herein, we propose a facile method to solve this problem by synthesizing porous SnS microflowers with in-situ formed sulfur vacancies.

Electrochemical Oxidation of Sulfonamides with Boron-Doped Diamond and Pt Anodes.

Electrochemical oxidation processes usually favored specific degradation pathways depending on anode materials. In this work, a series of sulfonamides (SNs) were degraded by electrochemical oxidation. Compared to Pt anodes (0.

A taxonomic synopsis of (Myristicaceae) in Mesoamerica, including six new species.

A taxonomic synopsis of (Myristicaceae) is presented for Mesoamerica. Fourteen species are recognised, amongst them six are described and published as new, based on morphology: D.Santam.

Gamma Ray Glow Observations at 20-km Altitude.

In the spring of 2017 an ER-2 aircraft campaign was undertaken over continental United States to observe energetic radiation from thunderstorms and lightning. The payload consisted of a suite of instruments designed to detect optical signals, electric fields, and gamma rays from lightning. Starting from Georgia, USA, 16 flights were performed, for a total of about 70 flight hours at a cruise altitude of 20 km.

3D Macroporous Zinc Compound/Silicone Hybrid Foams for Amperometric Sensing of Glucose Oxidase.

A 3D porous matrix makes an intriguing sensing platform, which can integrate functional guest molecules. Here, the first demonstration of a zinc compound/silicone hybrid foam is reported for amperometric sensing of glucose oxidase. The silicone foam is fabricated by a self-developed solid-filling-melting method.

Current and future functional imaging techniques for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stressor related psychiatric disorder associated with structural, metabolic, and molecular alternations in several brain regions including diverse cortical areas, neuroendocrine regions, the striatum, dopaminergic, adrenergic and serotonergic pathways, and the limbic system. We are in critical need of novel therapeutics and biomarkers for PTSD and a deep understanding of cutting edge imaging and spectroscopy methods is necessary for the development of promising new approaches to better diagnose and treat the disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) criterion, all forms of traumatic stress-induced disorder are considered acute stress disorder for the first month following the stressor.

Feedback of coastal marshes to climate change: Long-term phenological shifts.

Coastal marshes are important carbon sinks facing serious threats from climatic stressors. Current research reveals that the growth of individual marsh plants is susceptible to a changing climate, but the responses of different marsh systems at a landscape scale are less clear. Here, we document the multi-decadal changes in the phenology and the area of the extensive coastal marshes in Louisiana, USA, a representative of coastal ecosystems around the world that currently experiencing sea-level rise, temperature warming, and atmospheric CO increase.

Temporal and spatial dynamics of competitive parapatry in chewing lice.

We synthesize observations from 1979 to 2016 of a contact zone involving two subspecies of pocket gophers ( and ) and their respective chewing lice ( and ) along the Río Grande Valley in New Mexico, U.S.A.

Rapid microwave activation of waste palm into hierarchical porous carbons for supercapacitors using biochars from different carbonization temperatures as catalysts.

A rapid, simple and cost-effective approach to prepare hierarchical porous carbons (PCs) for supercapacitors is reported by microwave activation of abundant and low-cost waste palm, biochar (BC) and KOH. BCs from waste palm at different carbonization temperatures (300-700 °C), as catalysts and microwave receptors, were used here for the first time to facilitate the conversion of waste palm into hierarchical PCs. As a result, the high-graphitization PC obtained at a BC carbonization temperature of 300 °C (PC-300) possessed a high surface area (1755 m g), a high pore volume (0.