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Profound Implications (profound + implication)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences31%
Medical Sciences28%
Humanities and Social Sciences12%
Earth and Environmental Science9%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting6%
4 Other Domains14%
Distribution within Life Sciences
Conservation Science29%
Plant Science19%

Selected Abstracts

Applying Network Analysis to the Conservation of Habitat Trees in Urban Environments: a Case Study from Brisbane, Australia

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
MONIKA RHODES
conectividad de perchas; fauna que utiliza oquedades; planificación de la conservación; red sin escala; Tadarida australis Abstract:,In Australia more than 300 vertebrates, including 43 insectivorous bat species, depend on hollows in habitat trees for shelter, with many species using a network of multiple trees as roosts. We used roost-switching data on white-striped freetail bats (Tadarida australis; Microchiroptera: Molossidae) to construct a network representation of day roosts in suburban Brisbane, Australia. Bats were caught from a communal roost tree with a roosting group of several hundred individuals and released with transmitters. Each roost used by the bats represented a node in the network, and the movements of bats between roosts formed the links between nodes. Despite differences in gender and reproductive stages, the bats exhibited the same behavior throughout three radiotelemetry periods and over 500 bat days of radio tracking: each roosted in separate roosts, switched roosts very infrequently, and associated with other bats only at the communal roost. This network resembled a scale-free network in which the distribution of the number of links from each roost followed a power law. Despite being spread over a large geographic area (>200 km2), each roost was connected to others by less than three links. One roost (the hub or communal roost) defined the architecture of the network because it had the most links. That the network showed scale-free properties has profound implications for the management of the habitat trees of this roosting group. Scale-free networks provide high tolerance against stochastic events such as random roost removals but are susceptible to the selective removal of hub nodes. Network analysis is a useful tool for understanding the structural organization of habitat tree usage and allows the informed judgment of the relative importance of individual trees and hence the derivation of appropriate management decisions. Conservation planners and managers should emphasize the differential importance of habitat trees and think of them as being analogous to vital service centers in human societies. Resumen:,En Australia, más de 300 vertebrados, incluyendo 43 especies de murciélagos insectívoros, dependen de oquedades en árboles para refugiarse; muchas de ellas perchan en una red de múltiples árboles. Utilizamos datos de cambio de perchas en Tadarida australis (Microchiroptera: Molossidae) para construir una representación reticular de las perchas diurnas en los suburbios de Brisbane, Australia. Los murciélagos fueron capturados en un árbol con un grupo de varios cientos de individuos y liberados con transmisores. Cada percha utilizada por los murciélagos representó un nodo individual en la red, y los movimientos de murciélagos entre perchas constituyeron los eslabones entre los nodos. A pesar de las diferencias de género y etapas reproductivas, los murciélagos mostraron el mismo comportamiento en tres períodos de radiotelemetría y en más de 500 días de seguimiento de murciélagos: cada uno utilizó perchas separadas, cambiaban de percha poco frecuentemente, y se asociaron con otros murciélagos sólo en las perchas comunales. Esta red fue semejante a una red sin escala en la que la distribución del número de eslabones de cada percha cumplió una ley potencial. A pesar de estar dispersas en un área geográfica extensa (>200 km2), cada percha estaba conectada con otras por menos de tres eslabones. Una percha (el centro o percha comunal) definió la arquitectura de la red porque tenía a la mayoría de los eslabones. El hecho de que la red mostrara propiedades libres de escala tiene implicaciones profundas para la gestión de árboles que funcionan como perchas. Las redes libres de escala proporcionan alta tolerancia a eventos estocásticos como la remoción aleatoria de perchas, pero son susceptibles a la remoción selectiva de nodos centrales. El análisis de redes es una herramienta útil para el entendimiento de la organización estructural del uso de de árboles y permite el juicio informado de la importancia relativa de árboles individuales y por lo tanto la derivación de decisiones administrativas apropiadas Los planificadores y gestores de la conservación deberían enfatizar la importancia diferencial de árboles y considerarlos análogos a los centros de servicio vitales en las sociedades humanas. [source]

A Transdisciplinary Approach to Conservation Land Acquisition

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2002
Brian Czech
I integrated principles of conservation biology, ecological economics, and political science to outline an approach to conservation land acquisition in the United States. American political economy, especially, has profound implications for conservation land acquisition, yet these implications have been largely neglected by public land conservation agencies. I derived three general recommendations for the conservation of biodiversity via land acquisition: (1) relatively inexpensive lands in relatively intact ecosystems should be prioritized for acquisition, (2) fee-title acquisition should be favored over easement acquisition, and (3) low-lying coastal properties should receive lower priority. These recommendations contribute to an ecologically macroeconomic approach to conservation land acquisition, and each will become more appropriate as the sizes of the U.S. and global economies increase. Ultimately, however, the conservation of biodiversity will require a new political economy predicated on sustainability rather than growth. Resumen: La adquisición de tierras es uno de los aspectos claves para la conservación de la biodiversidad y es una empresa transdisciplinaria que requiere de la consideración de fenómenos sociales y naturales. Integré los principios de la biología de la conservación, la economía ecológica y las ciencias políticas para desarrollar una metodología de adquisición de tierras para la conservación en los Estados Unidos. La economía política norteamericana, especialmente tiene implicancias profundas sobre la adquisición de tierras para la conservación, sin embargo, estas aplicaciones han sido negadas ampliamente por las agencias de conservación de tierras públicas. Derivé tres recomendaciones generales para la conservación de la biodiversidad mediante la adquisición de tierras: 1) tierras relativamente baratas en ecosistemas relativamente intactos deben ser priorizadas para la adquisición, 2) los títulos de adquisición honoraria deben ser favorecidos sobre las adquisiciones forzadas y 3) las propiedades costeras bajas deberán recibir la prioridad más baja. Estas recomendaciones contribuyen a una aproximación ecológicamente macroeconómica para la adquisición de tierras para la conservación y cada una de ellas será más apropiada en tanto que los bienes de los Estados Unidos y la economía global incremente. Sin embargo, a fin de cuentas, la conservación de la biodiversidad requerirá de una nueva economía política predicada en la sustentabilidad más que en el crecimiento. [source]

Advanced Statistics:Statistical Methods for Analyzing Cluster and Cluster-randomized Data

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2002
Robert L. Wears MD
Abstract. Sometimes interventions in randomized clinical trials are not allocated to individual patients, but rather to patients in groups. This is called cluster allocation, or cluster randomization, and is particularly common in health services research. Similarly, in some types of observational studies, patients (or observations) are found in naturally occurring groups, such as neighborhoods. In either situation, observations within a cluster tend to be more alike than observations selected entirely at random. This violates the assumption of independence that is at the heart of common methods of statistical estimation and hypothesis testing. Failure to account for the dependence between individual observations and the cluster to which they belong can have profound implications on the design and analysis of such studies. Their p-values will be too small, confidence intervals too narrow, and sample size estimates too small, sometimes to a dramatic degree. This problem is similar to that caused by the more familiar "unit of analysis error" seen when observations are repeated on the same subjects, but are treated as independent. The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the problem of clustered data in clinical research. It provides guidance and examples of methods for analyzing clustered data and calculating sample sizes when planning studies. The article concludes with some general comments on statistical software for cluster data and principles for planning, analyzing, and presenting such studies. [source]

Merging of E2 and E1cb Reaction Mechanisms: A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 32 2009
Edoardo Mosconi
Abstract By combining the results of kinetic measurements with DFT calculations we provide a clear-cut evidence of the merging between the E2 and E1cb reaction mechanisms for a large series of leaving groups. Our results solve a long-debated issue in chemical reactivity with profound implications both from a fundamental and biological point of view, thus paving the way to further investigations with different substrates.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009) [source]

Trends and methodological impacts in soil CO2 efflux partitioning: A metaanalytical review

GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2006
JENS-ARNE SUBKE
Abstract Partitioning soil carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux (RS) into autotrophic (RA; including plant roots and closely associated organisms) and heterotrophic (RH) components has received considerable attention, as differential responses of these components to environmental change have profound implications for the soil and ecosystem C balance. The increasing number of partitioning studies allows a more detailed analysis of experimental constraints than was previously possible. We present results of an exhaustive literature search of partitioning studies and analyse global trends in flux partitioning between biomes and ecosystem types by means of a metaanalysis. Across all data, an overall decline in the RH/RS ratio for increasing annual RS fluxes emerged. For forest ecosystems, boreal coniferous sites showed significantly higher (P<0.05) RH/RS ratios than temperate sites, while both temperate or tropical deciduous forests did not differ in ratios from any of the other forest types. While chronosequence studies report consistent declines in the RH/RS ratio with age, no difference could be detected for different age groups in the global data set. Different methodologies showed generally good agreement if the range of RS under which they had been measured was considered, with the exception of studies estimating RH by means of root mass regressions against RS, which resulted in consistently lower RH/RS estimates out of all methods included. Additionally, the time step over which fluxes were partitioned did not affect RH/RS ratios consistently. To put results into context, we review the most common techniques and point out the likely sources of errors associated with them. In order to improve soil CO2 efflux partitioning in future experiments, we include methodological recommendations, and also highlight the potential interactions between soil components that may be overlooked as a consequence of the partitioning process itself. [source]

Manufacturing and the new ANSI S2.70-2006 hand,arm vibration exposure standard

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 6 2008
Donald E. Wasserman
Since 1918, hand,arm vibration (HAV) exposure, principally from but not limited to vibrating power tools and processes, affects some 1.5 to 2 million regularly exposed U.S. workers and many more worldwide. These HAV exposures usually lead to an irreversible disease of the fingers/hands called hand,arm vibration syndrome whose prevalence is as high as 50% in exposed worker populations. HAVS results not only in hand,arm deterioration, but invariably job loss. To help combat the mounting HAV problem, domestic and international consensus HAV exposure standards were developed and promulgated in the early 1980s; but for the first time, the European Union in 2005 passed into law exposure standards for both HAV and whole-body vibration. In response, in 2006 in the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) developed, replaced, and promulgated its 1986 HAV exposure standard S3.34 with a completely revised HAV standard,S2.70-2006,thus ushering in new profound implications for power tool users and tool manufacturers and countless related manufacturing operations throughout the United States. The background, salient aspects, safety and health, and manufacturing implications of this new ANSI S2.70 HAV standard are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Adult sex ratios in wild bird populations

IBIS, Issue 4 2007
PAUL F. DONALD
Offspring sex ratios in wild bird populations, and the extent to which they vary from the equality expected by random genotypic sex determination, have received much recent attention. Adult sex ratios (ASRs) in wild birds, on the other hand, remain very poorly described, and many of the questions about them posed by Ernst Mayr in 1939 remain unanswered. This review assesses population-level sex ratio patterns in wild bird populations, with an emphasis on the ASR. A quantitative assessment of over 200 published estimates of ASR, covering species from a wide range of taxa, regions and habitats, supported Mayr's assertion that skewed ASRs are common in wild bird populations. On average, males outnumbered females by around 33%, and 65% of published estimates differed significantly from equality. In contrast, population-level estimates of offspring sex ratio in birds did not generally differ from equality, and mean ASR across a range of wild mammal species was strongly female-skewed. ASR distortion in birds was significantly more severe in populations of globally threatened species than in non-threatened species, a previously undescribed pattern that has profound implications for their monitoring and conservation. Higher female mortality, rather than skewed offspring sex ratio, is the main driver of male-skewed ASRs in birds, and the causes and implications of this are reviewed. While estimates of ASR in wild bird populations may be subject to a number of biases, which are discussed, there is currently no quantitative evidence that an ASR of one male to one female represents the norm in birds. A better understanding and reporting of ASRs in wild bird populations could contribute greatly to our understanding of population processes and could contribute much to theoretical and applied research and conservation. [source]

Taking the Long View: What Does a Child Focus Add to Social Protection?

IDS BULLETIN, Issue 1 2009
Rachel Sabates-Wheeler
Recognising that many indicators of vulnerability among children, such as malnutrition or poor educational performance, might reflect intergenerational problems has profound implications for the design and implementation of social protection programmes. Treating the symptoms of these problems is of course essential: a malnourished child needs immediate nutritional support and a child who is failing at school needs special attention. But the argument of this paper is that ,taking the long view' is imperative if the reasons why children are malnourished, or failing, are to be correctly identified and adequately addressed. Importantly, the analysis implies directing interventions not exclusively at the children who are at risk, but at others in society who are responsible for the care of children. [source]

Nuclear deterrence and the tradition of non-use

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2009
DAVID JAMES GILL
The two books under review, The tradition of non-use of nuclear weapons, by T. V. Paul and Deterrence: from Cold War to long war. Lessons from six decades of RAND research, by Austin Long, highlight the continued interest in the theory and practice of nuclear deterrence. Long traces the RAND Corporation's research on the subject, exploring the role that nuclear deterrence has played as a strategy of the Cold War. The author goes on to argue for the relevance of nuclear deterrence to the future strategic environment, considering threats from peer-competitors to non-state actors. By contrast Paul considers the rise and persistence of a tradition, or informal social norm, of non-use which has encouraged self-deterrence. Employing a series of examples, Paul argues that this tradition best explains why, since 1945, nuclear states have not used nuclear weapons against non-nuclear opponents. Taken together, these books encourage further consideration of the relationship between nuclear deterrence and the tradition of non-use. Indeed, it is difficult to see how the two practices can successfully coexist if non-nuclear states have, as Paul suggests, already begun to exploit the existence of a tradition of non-use. Such deterrence failures, real or perceived, have profound implications for relationships between nuclear and non-nuclear states. [source]

The impact of non-stationarities in the climate system on the definition of ,a normal wind year': a case study from the Baltic

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2005
S. C. Pryor
Abstract Wind speeds over the Baltic significantly increased over the second half of the 20th century (C20th), with the majority of the increase being focused on the upper quartile of the wind speed distribution and in the southwest of the region. These changes have potentially profound implications for the wind energy resource. For example, based on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction,National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP,NCAR) reanalysis data it is shown that, owing to this non-stationarity, using the normalization period of 1987,98 to determine the wind resource (as in the Danish wind index) leads to overestimation of the wind energy index (and hence the wind energy resource) in western Denmark relative to 1958,2001 by approximately 10%. To address whether the increased prevalence of high wind speeds at the end of the C20th will be maintained in the future, we provide a first prognosis of annual wind indices from the HadCM3 coupled atmosphere,ocean general circulation model. The results suggest the 21st century (C21st) will be similar to the 1958,2001 period with respect to the wind energy density, but that the northeastern Baltic will exhibit slightly higher wind energy indices over the course of the C21st relative to the latter half of the C20th, whereas the southwest of the Baltic exhibits some evidence of declining wind indices towards the end of the C21st. These changes may indicate a tendency in HadCM3 towards more northerly tracking of mid-latitude cyclones in the future, possibly due to evolution of the North Atlantic oscillation. As a caveat to this finding, it should be noted that the NCEP,NCAR and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis data sets and HadCM3 simulations, although exhibiting commonalities during the period of overlap, differ quantitatively in terms of the spatial fields and empirical cumulative probability distributions at individual grid cells. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society [source]

The Political Economy of AIDS Treatment: Intellectual Property and the Transformation of Generic Supply

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2007
Kenneth C. Shadlen
This article examines the relationship between intellectual property (IP) and public health, with a focus on the extension of AIDS treatment in the developing world. While most of the literature on IP and health examines the conditions affecting poor countries' capacities to acquire essential medicines, I show the distinct,and more complicated,political economy of production and supply. IP regulations alter the structure of generic pharmaceutical sectors in the countries capable of supplying essential medicines, and changes in market structure affect actors' economic and political interests and capacities. These new constellations of interests and capacities have profound implications for the creation and maintenance of political coalitions in support of on-going drug supply. The result is that the global AIDS treatment campaign becomes marked by mismatches of interests and capacities: those actors capable of taking the economic, legal, and political steps necessary to increase the supply and availability of essential drugs have diminished interest in doing so, and those actors with an interest in expanding treatment may lack the capacities to address the problem of undersupply. By focusing centrally on actors' interests in and capacities for economic and political action, the article restores political economy to analysis of an issue-area that has been dominated by attention to international law. And by examining the fragility of the coalitions supporting the production and supply of generic drugs, the article points to the limits of transnational activist networks as enduring agents of change. [source]

Genetics education in the nursing profession: literature review

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 2 2006
Sarah Burke BA MA
Aim., This paper reports a literature review exploring genetics education for nursing professionals. The aim was to contribute to the debate about the future direction of such education. Background., Advances in genetics science and technology have profound implications for health care and the growing importance and relevance of genetics for everyday nursing practice is increasingly recognized. Method., A search was conducted in February 2005 using the CINAHL and Google Scholar databases and the keywords nurse, midwife, health visitor, education and genetics. Papers were included if they were published in English between 1994 and 2005 and included empirical data about genetics education in nursing. In addition, attempts were made to access the grey literature, with requests for information on research, for example, to members of the Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors and searches of relevant websites. Findings., Agreement on the relevance of genetics for nursing practice is extensive. Empirical evidence of the learning needs of practitioners highlights widespread deficits in knowledge and skills, and low confidence levels. Provision of nursing education in genetics is patchy and insubstantial across a number of countries, further hampered by lack of strategic development. Significant progress has been made in the identification of learning outcomes for nurses. Research on the delivery of genetics education is limited, but the role of skills-based training, use of clinical scenarios, and importance of assessment have all been identified as factors that can promote learning. Conclusion., Whilst areas of good performance were revealed, many studies identified gaps in professional competence and/or education. New initiatives are underway to support genetics education and its integration into professional practice, but further research is needed on the most effective forms of educational delivery, and an international collaborative approach to this should be considered. [source]

Masticatory muscle architecture in the Laotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus (Mammalia, Rodentia): new insights into the evolution of hystricognathy

JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 4 2009
Lionel Hautier
Abstract We present the first descriptive comparison of the skull, mandible and jaw muscles of the recently recovered Laotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus. The gross anatomy of five specimens captured in Laos and internal architecture of the jaw musculature were studied using dissections. The following muscles are described: temporal, masseter, pterygoids, digastric, mylohyoid, geniohyoid and transverse mandibular. The description of the masticatory apparatus of L. aenigmamus offers a rare opportunity to assess the order of establishment of the morphological characters during the evolution of Ctenohystrica. Striking convergences have occurred during the evolution of Diatomyidae and L. aenigmamus presents a unique combination of myological features that corresponds to a mixture of sciurognathous and hystricognathous characters. If L. aenigmamus is a sciurognathous rodent, we have to assume that it independently acquired a pars reflexa of the superficial masseter. We show for the first time that the development of this pars reflexa has occurred several times during the evolution of Ctenohystrica and can no longer be considered a synapomorphic feature of ,Hystricognathi'. These results bring new insights into the evolution of hystricognathy and have profound implications for the interpretation of the fossil record of early hystricognath rodents. [source]

Insights into creation and use of prescribing documentation in the hospital medical record

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2005
Mary P. Tully PhD MRPharmS
Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives, Extraction of prescribing data from medical records is a common, albeit flawed, research method. Yet little is known about the processes that result in those data. This study explores the creation and use of prescribing documentation in the medical record, from the perspective of the hospital doctors who both create and use it. Methods, Thirty-six hospital doctors were purposively selected for qualitative interviews, giving a maximum variability sample of grades of doctors across the range of major medical specialty areas and medical teams at a large teaching hospital in England. Results, The findings suggest a number of reasons why hospital doctors fail to record prescribing decisions in the medical record. There was no set standard, record keeping was not formally taught and the hurried environment of the ward gave little time for documentation. The doctors also acknowledged that there was no need for completeness, as colleagues would be able to ,fill in the gaps' via an inferential process. ,Assumptions ,were ,made ,and ,although ,this ,was ,not ,seen ,as ,ideal, it was recognized as necessary if work was to be done efficiently. Conclusion, These results reinforce the suggestion that, despite the large number of potential users, the medical record is created for those with the right privileged knowledge. This has profound implications for those without that insider knowledge who are using medical records for research purposes. Funding, This work was funded by a North West Regional National Health Service Postdoctoral Fellowship. [source]

Sex differences in behaviour as an indirect consequence of mating system

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2000
A. E. Magurran
A considerable literature has been devoted to documenting differences between the sexes. However, relatively little attention has hitherto been directed towards those differences that arise as an indirect consequence of mating system even though they can have profound implications for the daily lives of the animals involved. In this review we focus on differences in the non-reproductive behaviour of fish and relate these to sexual dimorphism in size and morphology, and to variance in fitness between the sexes. In line with our expectation, differences in distributional ecology, schooling, aggression, predator avoidance and foraging are exaggerated in sexually dimorphic species and polygamous mating systems. Nonetheless, the behaviour of males and females may also differ in sexually monomorphic and monogamous species. We conclude by highlighting promising directions for further research. [source]

The neurobiology and genetics of eating and weight regulation

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 10 2008
J. Hebebrand
Over the past 15 years tremendous advances have been made in the elucidation of pathways relevant to eating behaviour and body weight regulation. It has become evident that these pathways are intricately interwoven with those underlying mood and anxiety regulation, motor activity, cognition, sleep, fertility and libido. In addition, advances have been made in determining genetic variation underlying inter-individual differences in body weight. To illustrate these novel findings we will focus on: 1) Monogenic and oligogenic obesity: The underlying genes were initially detected in animal models. Based on mutation screens of the human homologues functionally relevant mutations were detected in the genes coding for leptin, its receptors and the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R). The effect of such mutations is large. Leptin gene mutations lead to hyperphagia and subsequently obesity. Hyperphagia, albeit of a substantially reduced magnitude, has also been observed in obese children with mutations in the MC4R. 2) Polygenic obesity: The advent of genome wide association studies has led to the detection of single polygenes, among which FTO features prominently. Typically, a variant predisposing to obesity accounts for a body weight elevated by on average 200 to 1500 grams. Such polygenes act in concert to account for inter-individual differences in body weight. 3) Leptin has been shown to have profound implications for anorexia nervosa. Serum leptin levels in this eating disorders are annormaly low. The hypoleptinemia entails a down-regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal-axis, which underlies the amenorrhea characteristic of anorexia nervosa. Furthermore, the hypoleptinemia induces hyperactivity in a rat model of anorexia nervosa. In patients, leptin levels are inversely correlated with activity levels. [source]

The social and discursive construction of computing skills

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
Sanna Talja
In this article a social constructionist approach to information technology (IT) literacy is introduced. This approach contributes to the literature on IT literacy by introducing the concept of IT self as a description of the momentary, context-dependent, and multilayered nature of interpretations of IT competencies. In the research literature, IT literacy is often defined as sets of basic skills to be learned, and competencies to be demonstrated. In line with this approach, research on IT competencies conventionally develops models for explaining user acceptance, and for measuring computer-related attitudes and skills. The assumption is that computer-related attitudes and self-efficacy impact IT adoption and success in computer use. Computer self-efficacy measures are, however, often based on self-assessments that measure interpretations of skills rather than performance in practice. An analysis of empirical interview data in which academic researchers discuss their relationships with computers and IT competence shows how a self-assessment such as "computer anxiety" presented in one discussion context can in another discussion context be consigned to the past in favor of a different and more positive version. Here it is argued that descriptions of IT competencies and computer-related attitudes are dialogic social constructs and closely tied with more general implicit understandings of the nature of technical artifacts and technical knowledge. These implicit theories and assumptions are rarely taken under scrutiny in discussions of IT literacy yet they have profound implications for the aims and methods in teaching computer skills. [source]

Phospholipase C-mediated calcium signalling is required for fungal development and pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae

MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
HEE-SOOL RHO
SUMMARY Calcium signalling has profound implications in the fungal infection of plants and animals, during which a series of physiological and morphological transitions are required. In this article, using a model fungal pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae, we demonstrate that the regulation of the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]int) is essential for fungal development and pathogenesis. Imaging of [Ca2+]int showed that infection-specific morphogenesis is highly correlated with the spatiotemporal regulation of calcium flux. Deletion of the fungal phospholipase C gene (M. oryzae phospholipase C 1, MoPLC1) suppressed calcium flux, resulting in a fungus defective in developmental steps, including appressorium formation and pathogenicity. Surprisingly, the PLC-,1 gene of mouse was able to functionally substitute for MoPLC1 by restoring the calcium flux, suggesting the evolutionary conservation of the phospholipase C-mediated regulation of calcium flux. Our results reveal that MoPLC1 is a conserved modulator of calcium flux that is essential for the regulation of key steps in fungal development and pathogenesis. [source]

Environmental evaluation practices and the issue of scale

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR EVALUATION, Issue 122 2009
Hans Bruyninckx
Social scientists, natural scientists, and evaluators have not properly defined the concept of scale for environmental problems. Environmental scale generally differs from social scale, which confounds the challenge of evaluating policies and governance arrangements in addressing environmental issues. Instead, social scales are generally based on traditional jurisdictional boundaries, and this complicates effective decision making. Conversely, evaluators must be able to assess innovative governance arrangements as well as the outcomes of environmental problems because the two are interconnected. This is particularly true in looking at cross-scale, social-ecological interactions. This has profound implications for policy evaluation; evaluators have to develop frameworks for connecting across various scales and levels in overcoming mismatches. Natural scientists probably need to be humbler in their ambitions, and evaluators will have to engage in interdisciplinary teams that blend the expertise of the social sciences with that from the natural sciences to assess outcomes to social and environmental scales. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Establishing a missing link: warm summers and winter snow cover promote shrub expansion into alpine tundra in Scandinavia

NEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 4 2010
Martin Hallinger
Summary ,Shrub expansion in alpine and arctic areas is a process with possibly profound implications for ecosystem functioning. The recent shrub expansion has been mainly documented by remote sensing techniques, but the drivers for this process largely remain hypotheses. ,Here, we outline a dendrochronological method, adapted to shrubs, to address these hypotheses and then present a mechanism for the current shrub expansion by linking recent climate change to shrub growth performance in northern Sweden. ,A pronounced increase in radial and vertical growth during recent decades along an elevational gradient from treeline to shrubline indicates an ongoing shrub expansion. Age distribution of the shrub population indicates the new colonization of shrubs at high elevations. ,Shrub growth is correlated with warm summers and winter snow cover and suggests the potential for large-scale ecosystem changes if climate change continues as projected. [source]

Polyspecific malaria antibodies present at the time of infection inhibit the development of immunity to malaria but antibodies specific for the malaria merozoite surface protein, MSP1, facilitate immunity

PARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 5 2002
Wenbao Zhang
Summary Serum taken from mice immune to malaria as a result of infection and drug cure, or from mice immunized with a recombinant form of the merozoite surface protein, MSP1, can provide passive protection of recipient mice against the lethal parasite, Plasmodium yoelii YM. However, recipients of MSP1-immune serum go on to develop long-term immunity, whereas recipients of serum from mice naturally immune to malaria rapidly lose their resistance to infection. We demonstrate that ,infection/cure' serum suppresses the development of both antibody and cell-mediated parasite-specific responses in recipients, whereas these develop in recipients of MSP1-specific antibodies. These data have profound implications for our understanding of the development of malaria immunity in babies who passively acquire antibodies from their mothers. [source]

The Influence of Knowledge Accumulation on Buyer-Supplier Codevelopment Projects

THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2003
Melissa M. Appleyard
This article investigates innovation across a supply chain and considers how knowledge accumulation as a consequence of buyer-supplier codevelopment projects can influence the projects' specifications. The setting is the semiconductor industry, and the players are chip producers who cooperate with their suppliers to modify their manufacturing equipment used to produce new semiconductor devices. Two detailed case studies were undertaken to determine the tradeoffs encountered by the buyer and supplier when setting the parameters that govern codevelopment projects. The findings from the case studies inform a conceptual framework that outlines the net payoffs to buyers when deciding whether to "make" or "buy" their production equipment. If buyers pursue the "make" option, they then have to decide the degree to which they sponsor modifications tailored to their production processes or modifications more generally applicable across the industry. More generally applicable modifications likely would prompt suppliers to invest relatively more in follow-on knowledge creation for upgrades and field support while leading to lower equipment costs due to economies of scale from larger production runs of the new equipment. The framework suggests that when making this sequence of decisions, an innovative buyer also weighs the importance of codevelopment for securing intellectual property rights, guaranteeing early access to new equipment enabling early product launch, and achieving high production yields quickly due to "previewing" the equipment. The conceptual framework leads to a multi-period model that focuses on the importance of knowledge accumulation for project parameterization. As captured by the model, buyers may prefer generally applicable modifications to customized ones, because generally applicable modifications may lead to greater knowledge accumulation at the supplier. This knowledge accumulation may be either "embodied" in equipment upgrades or "unembodied" in improved field support. In addition to shaping the nature of particular codevelopment projects, knowledge accumulation also may have profound implications for long-run industry structure. As seen in the semiconductor industry, knowledge accumulation at equipment suppliers has contributed to the rise of contract manufacturers, because these manufacturers can outfit their production facilities with equipment that embodies the accumulated knowledge. These findings suggest that for both short-run and long-run reasons, the dynamics of knowledge accumulation merit thorough attention when members of a supply chain cooperate during the course of new product development. [source]

Anaesthesia for an adult with Angelman syndrome

ANAESTHESIA, Issue 11 2009
M. Maguire
Summary Angelman syndrome is a complex genetic condition involving abnormalities of chromosome 15 in the majority of cases. These defects involve a gene encoding an ubiquitin protein ligase and may be associated with abnormal ,-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor subunits. Angelman syndrome may have profound implications for anaesthesia: potential exists for airway difficulties; refractory bradyarrythmias; and pharmacodynamic unpredictability. A case of an adult with Angelman syndrome undergoing dental work under general anaesthesia is presented. Induction and maintenance of anaesthesia was unremarkable but emergence was complicated by generalised muscular hypertonia and temporary respiratory embarrassment which resolved spontaneously. [source]

Survival and growth responses of eight Everglades tree species along an experimental hydrological gradient on two tree island types

APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 4 2010
Susana L. Stoffella
Abstract Questions: How are the early survival and growth of seedlings of Everglades tree species planted in an experimental setting on artificial tree islands affected by hydrology and substrate type? What are the implications of these responses for broader tree island restoration efforts? Location: Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA), Boynton Beach, Florida, USA. Methods: An experiment was designed to test hydrological and substrate effects on seedling growth and survivorship. Two islands , a peat and a limestone-core island representing two major types found in the Everglades , were constructed in four macrocosms. A mixture of eight tree species was planted on each island in March of 2006 and 2007. Survival and height growth of seedlings planted in 2006 were assessed periodically during the next two and a half years. Results: Survival and growth improved with increasing elevation on both tree island substrate types. Seedlings' survival and growth responses along a moisture gradient matched species distributions along natural hydrological gradients in the Everglades. The effect of substrate on seedling performance showed higher survival of most species on the limestone tree islands, and faster growth on their peat-based counterparts. Conclusions: The present results could have profound implications for restoration of forests on existing landforms and artificial creation of tree islands. Knowledge of species tolerance to flooding and responses to different edaphic conditions present in wetlands is important in selecting suitable species to plant on restored tree islands [source]

Erratic judgements: re-evaluating solutional erosion rates of limestones using erratic-pedestal sites, including Norber, Yorkshire

AREA, Issue 4 2005
H S Goldie
The re-interpretation of surface karst landforms in Northern England has led to a re-examination of well-known erratic-pedestal sites that were the origin for karst denudation rates applied extensively, on the supposition that erratics protect underlying limestone from rainwater solution. Height of the pedestal has been used to calculate long-term solutional-lowering, as much as 50 cm in 15 ka (33.3 mm/ka) from UK sites. The sites include Norber and Scar Close, Yorkshire, UK. This paper shows that the sites have been misinterpreted, in particular at Norber where the erratics lie on a pre-existing structurally stepped surface. Norber and several other sites also experience much mechanical weathering, in relatively weak, well-fractured limestones, a process which must be distinguished from solution. Sites in strong, less-fractured limestones demonstrate lower rates, which are sounder indications of land surface lowering. Some pedestals have been confirmed as partly resulting from solutional weathering in surrounding soil and vegetation. Re-evaluation reduces solution rates to 3,13 cm in 15 ka. Applying such rates has profound implications for understanding limestone landscapes, challenging orthodox views. [source]

Primary necrotizing lymphocytic central nervous system vasculitis due to perforin deficiency in a four-year-old girl

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 3 2007
Despina Moshous
We report the case of a 4-year-old girl who presented with headaches, ataxia, and visual disturbances. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple supra- and infratentorial lesions with peripheral contrast enhancement and central necrosis. Brain biopsy revealed necrotizing lymphocytic vasculitis of undetermined etiology. Perforin expression was found to be significantly reduced in the patient's peripheral blood cells, and sequence analysis of the patient's perforin gene showed a compound heterozygous state with 1 nonsense mutation and 2 missense alterations in exon 2. Central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis was thus attributed to the perforin deficiency, and the patient was successfully treated by transplantation of stem cells from an HLA-identical brother. The findings described herein indicate that, even in the absence of classic non-neurologic symptoms of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, measurement of perforin expression should be one of the diagnostic tests used to identify the cause of unexplained CNS vasculitis, since this may have profound implications regarding therapy. [source]

Is Price in Hong Kong That Flexible?

ASIAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002
Evidence from the Export Sector
Using the Johansen procedure, this paper estimates and compares the adjustment speeds of Hong Kong's export volume and export price. Result of this will have profound implications on the debate of the appropriateness of Hong Kong's current exchange-rate system. Two cointegrating vectors were found in our system, with one postulating the export volume equation and another postulating the export price equation. It was found that export volume will adjust relatively fast to shocks in the export volume equation, and that export price will adjust relatively slow to shocks in the export volume equation. On the other hand, export volume will be insensitive, and export price will adjust at moderate speed, to disequilibrium in the export price equation. Based on the estimated model, we also conducted simulation exercises to highlight the impacts of the appreciation of the US Dollar and the reduction in world demand on Hong Kong's export volume during the crisis and post-crisis periods. [source]

Habitat preferences of the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) , a propensity for prime real estate?

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
JOANNE M. OLDLAND
Abstract This study investigated habitat characteristics that have been postulated to influence the occurrence of noisy miners (Manorina melanocephala Family Meliphagidae). It builds on an earlier study that identified corners along remnant edges as important predictors of the presence of noisy miners in large blocks of remnant vegetation (>300 ha). Six habitat characteristics were recorded at 39 corner sites within the box-ironbark region of Victoria. We failed to detect any significant effect of the density of understorey vegetation on the likelihood of noisy miners occupying a site, but this might have been an artefact of prolonged drought conditions. The most powerful predictors of the presence of noisy miners at remnant corners were found to be soil type and the proportion of canopy trees at a site that were yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon), with noisy miners being associated with deeper, more fertile soils and higher proportions of yellow gums present. As yellow gum is a prolific and reliable nectar producer, the inherent productivity of a site might be more important in determining the attractiveness of a site to noisy miners than structural attributes like the presence or absence of an understorey. Noisy miners are sedentary colonial birds that occupy year-round territories, often at high densities. Sites capable of supporting such high density occupation year-round might be limited to the most productive sites within the landscape. This productivity hypothesis has potentially profound implications for other woodland avifauna, as noisy miners might be excluding other woodland birds from some of the most fertile components of the landscape; components that are already rare in the box-ironbark region due preferential clearing for agriculture at the time of settlement. [source]

Sperm-mediated gene transfer: Applications and implications

BIOESSAYS, Issue 5 2005
Kevin Smith
Recent developments in studies of sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT) now provide solid ground for the notion that sperm cells can act as vectors for exogenous genetic sequences. A substantive body of evidence indicates that SMGT is potentially useable in animal transgenesis, but also suggests that the final fate of the exogenous sequences transferred by sperm is not always predictable. The analysis of SMGT-derived offspring has shown the existence of integrated foreign sequences in some cases, while in others stable modifications of the genome are difficult to detect. The appearance of SMGT-derived modified offspring on the one hand and, on the other hand, the rarity of actual modification of the genome, suggest inheritance as extrachromosomal structures. Several specific factors have been identified that mediate distinct steps in SMGT. Among those, a prominent role is played by an endogenous reverse transcriptase of retrotransposon origin. Mature spermatozoa are naturally protected against the intrusion of foreign nucleic acid molecules; however, particular environmental conditions, such as those occurring during human assisted reproduction, can abolish this protection. The possibility that sperm cells under these conditions carry genetic sequences affecting the integrity or identity of the host genome should be critically considered. These considerations further suggest the possibility that SMGT events may occasionally take place in nature, with profound implications for evolutionary processes. BioEssays 27: 551,562, 2005. © 2005 Wiley periodicals, Inc. [source]

Plant invasions , the role of mutualisms

BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2000
DAVID M. RICHARDSON
ABSTRACT Many introduced plant species rely on mutualisms in their new habitats to overcome barriers to establishment and to become naturalized and, in some cases, invasive. Mutualisms involving animalmediated pollination and seed dispersal, and symbioses between plant roots and microbiota often facilitate invasions. The spread of many alien plants, particularly woody ones, depends on pollinator mutualisms. Most alien plants are well served by generalist pollinators (insects and birds), and pollinator limitation does not appear to be a major barrier for the spread of introduced plants (special conditions relating to Ficus and orchids are described). Seeds of many of the most notorious plant invaders are dispersed by animals, mainly birds and mammals. Our review supports the view that tightly coevolved, plant-vertebrate seed dispersal systems are extremely rare. Vertebrate-dispersed plants are generally not limited reproductively by the lack of dispersers. Most mycorrhizal plants form associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi which, because of their low specificity, do not seem to play a major role in facilitating or hindering plant invasions (except possibly on remote islands such as the Galapagos which are poor in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi). The lack of symbionts has, however, been a major barrier for many ectomycorrhizal plants, notably for Pinus spp. in parts of the southern hemisphere. The roles of nitrogen-fixing associations between legumes and rhizobia and between actinorhizal plants and Frankia spp. in promoting or hindering invasions have been virtually ignored in the invasions literature. Symbionts required to induce nitrogen fixation in many plants are extremely widespread, but intentional introductions of symbionts have altered the invasibility of many, if not most, systems. Some of the world's worst invasive alien species only invaded after the introduction of symbionts. Mutualisms in the new environment sometimes re-unite the same species that form partnerships in the native range of the plant. Very often, however, different species are involved, emphasizing the diffuse nature of many (most) mutualisms. Mutualisms in new habitats usually duplicate functions or strategies that exist in the natural range of the plant. Occasionally, mutualisms forge totally novel combinations, with profound implications for the behaviour of the introduced plant in the new environment (examples are seed dispersal mutualisms involving wind-dispersed pines and cockatoos in Australia; and mycorrhizal associations involving plant roots and fungi). Many ecosystems are becoming more susceptible to invasion by introduced plants because: (a) they contain an increasing array of potential mutualistic partners (e.g. generalist frugivores and pollinators, mycorrhizal fungi with wide host ranges, rhizobia strains with infectivity across genera); and (b) conditions conducive for the establishment of various alienalien synergisms are becoming more abundant. Incorporating perspectives on mutualisms in screening protocols will improve (but not perfect) our ability to predict whether a given plant species could invade a particular habitat. [source]