Search

A new species of the genus Macrocephenchelys is described herein based on a single specimen collected from the deep‐sea trawl landing at Kalamukku fish landing centre, Kerala coast, Arabian Sea. The new species is distinguished by having a dorsal‐fin origin behind the middle of pectoral fin, a larger head, shorter trunk, larger gill opening, dorsal surface of body with dark‐brown colour and ventral surface of head and belly with numerous patches of melanophores before anus, vertebrae 14‐30‐151. The new species shares most of the characteristics with Macrocephenchelys brevirostris but differs from it by having a more anterior dorsal‐fin origin (vs. over the tip or slightly behind the pectoral‐fin tip), larger head [15.3% total length (TL) vs. 10.5%–13.9% TL, 53.2% pre‐anal length (PAL) vs. 35.8%–47.6% PAL], shorter trunk length (13.6% TL vs. 14.4%–20.6% TL, 47.3% PAL vs. 52.4%–66.2% PAL); further it shows 7.9%–8.1% genetic divergence from the sequences of M. brevirostris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural landscapes are some of the most heavily modified systems globally, with populations of many species in these areas experiencing major declines. To arrest these declines, and to support agricultural sustainability, revegetation and other interventions that conserve and enhance natural assets on farms are increasingly common. To ensure the efficacy of management interventions, it is critical to evaluate their outcomes to determine how biodiversity gains can be maximised. One method to maximise the value of revegetation programs is co-locating actions in areas with other natural assets. Here, we examine bird species richness and breeding activity responses to restoration plantings surrounding pre-existing farm dams (enhanced farm dams) compared to restoration plantings distant from dams (shelterbelts), and pre-existing dams without restoration plantings (unfenced dams). We found significantly greater bird species richness and breeding activity at enhanced farm dams than at shelterbelts or unfenced dams. We also found significantly greater non-waterbird breeding activity at enhanced dams relative to shelterbelts and unfenced dams. Our research demonstrates that co-locating restoration activities adjacent to existing natural assets on farms can produce improved gains for biodiversity. We recommend that, where possible, restoration plantings are co-located with farm dams and other natural assets to maximise biodiversity gains. • Co-locating farm dams and restoration plantings has benefits for bird biodiversity. • Bird species richness and breeding activity was greatest at enhanced farm dams. • This finding remained consistent when only terrestrial bird species were analysed. • Land managers should seek to incorporate farm dams into plantings where possible.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-national research contends that women's military participation has been associated with military function and organization, social structure, culture, and political factors. This exploratory study of Jordanian women suggests that these factors and their subcategories simultaneously help and hinder them. Using Segal's updated model for women's participation in the military, we explore how the meaning of Jordanian military women's experiences compare in a cross-national theoretical framework. We review Segal's updated model variables and compare it to interview data based on a grounded theory approach. Using semistructured interviews with a nonrandom sample of women who served in the Jordanian military or police, we place their experiences in a cross-national context and provide exploratory qualitative analysis of how these women navigated social and cultural norms. Our results showed that participants perceived their positive experiences and ability to achieve aspirations as enablers to their success, which they considered unlikely in the civilian workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about Thomas Dresser White (1901– 1965), a career Air Force officer who simultaneously carried a life-long interest in fishes and the natural environment. Topics discussed include exhibited an extraordinary facility for languages and became fluent in the languages of different countries; back to aquariums they set up in their apartment; and explaining his situation and giving short accounts of some species of small fishes.

Countless writers have speculated on Robert E. Lee's motivations for the Gettysburg campaign during the American Civil War. One significant factor has received less attention than others: the need to clear the Shenandoah Valley of occupying Union forces. This essay argues that the situation in the Shenandoah Valley was a key part of Lee's conceptualization of the campaign and his analysis of its results. This perspective illuminates the issues of logistics and home front discontent that confronted Lee and made him begin planning his operation well before April 1863. It supports and broadens recent work highlighting the importance of logistics in the campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional practice in cyclostratigraphy relies on invalid statistical tests to identify candidate orbital cycles in stratigraphic data-series. The practice is embodied in a presentation of the power spectrum that also displays statistical confidence limits (CLs). An investigation of sixty recent examples of this spectrum-with-CLs demonstrates the dependence of large numbers of cycle identifications on this procedure. The CLs, which are generated by default, do not provide criteria for the statistical test that they appear to represent, and cannot be used to measure significance at multiple frequencies. Continuing adherence to this practice is driven by precedent, by its ease of use, by its exclusively positive results, and by reluctance to engage either with the prior probabilities of orbital cycle preservation, or with the technical constraints of statistical testing. Readily available corrections to the procedure tend greatly to reduce or even eliminate cycle detections, but their promotion has generally resulted in vigorous defence of the status quo. Challenging such a highly productive paradigm may be unpopular, but it is time to confront two possibilities: that mathematically true cyclicity is less prevalent in stratigraphic successions than published results suggest; and that the conventional spectrum-with-confidence limits creates more candidate orbital cycles than it discovers: it is in fact an Orbital Cycle Factory. • In sixty examples, orbital cycle detections in strata depended on faulty statistics. • The fault is built into the conventional spectrum-with-confidence limits (CLs). • False results arise from procedural flexibility, multiple testing, and HARKing. • Conventionally, expected presence of cycles outweighs statistical correctness. • An improved paradigm would correct significance levels and accept null results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Mycobacterium vaccae (NCTC 11659) is an environmental saprophytic bacterium with anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and stress resilience properties. Previous studies have shown that whole, heat-killed preparations of M. vaccae prevent allergic airway inflammation in a murine model of allergic asthma. Recent studies also demonstrate that immunization with M. vaccae prevents stress-induced exaggeration of proinflammatory cytokine secretion from mesenteric lymph node cells stimulated ex vivo, prevents stress-induced exaggeration of chemically induced colitis in a model of inflammatory bowel disease, and prevents stress-induced anxiety-like defensive behavioral responses. Furthermore, immunization with M. vaccae induces anti-inflammatory responses in the brain and prevents stress-induced exaggeration of microglial priming. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying anti-inflammatory effects of M. vaccae are not known. Objectives: Our objective was to identify and characterize novel anti-inflammatory molecules from M. vaccae NCTC 11659. Methods: We have purified and identified a unique anti-inflammatory triglyceride, 1,2,3-tri [Z-10-hexadecenoyl] glycerol, from M. vaccae and evaluated its effects in freshly isolated murine peritoneal macrophages. Results: The free fatty acid form of 1,2,3-tri [Z-10-hexadecenoyl] glycerol, 10(Z)-hexadecenoic acid, decreased lipopolysaccharide-stimulated secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 ex vivo. Meanwhile, next-generation RNA sequencing revealed that pretreatment with 10(Z)-hexadecenoic acid upregulated genes associated with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) signaling in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages, in association with a broad transcriptional repression of inflammatory markers. We confirmed using luciferase-based transfection assays that 10(Z)-hexadecenoic acid activated PPARα signaling, but not PPARγ, PPARδ, or retinoic acid receptor (RAR) α signaling. The effects of 10(Z)-hexadecenoic acid on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated secretion of IL-6 were prevented by PPARα antagonists and absent in PPARα-deficient mice. Conclusion: Future studies should evaluate the effects of 10(Z)-hexadecenoic acid on stress-induced exaggeration of peripheral inflammatory signaling, central neuroinflammatory signaling, and anxiety- and fear-related defensive behavioral responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the workplace, women often encounter gender stereotypes and biases that reinforce the existing gender hierarchy, may hinder women's career aspirations and retention, and may limit their ability to be promoted—especially in traditionally male organizations. Long-standing and widely held (although often unconscious) beliefs about gender can reinforce women's perceived lower status position relative to men's. Because men are described/prescribed as agentic (often masculine) and women as communal (often feminine), women leaders are often evaluated as being status-incongruent. We explore the gendered assignment of leader attributes with particular attention to associations of agentic competence (deficiency for women) and agentic dominance (penalty for women). We examined peer evaluations of 4344 U.S. Naval Academy students who are assigned attributes from a predefined list. Although men and women received similar numbers of descriptive (positive) attributes, women received more proscriptive (negative) attributes than did men and these individual attributes were predominantly feminine. These findings offer evidence that women leaders' status incongruity may be associated with perceived competence (agentic deficiency). A contribution of our analysis is theory testing using data from a real-life performance evaluation system. Additionally, our research contributes to our knowledge of gendered language and status characteristics in performance evaluations and can assist researchers and practitioners with developing interventions. Understanding the association of gender status beliefs with evaluation processes may facilitate changing workplace culture to be more gender-inclusive through less biased and stereotypical performance evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pattern recognition methods such as linear discriminant analysis and principal component analysis are useful tools for the identification of analytes such as metal ions. These typically use a number of distinct molecular probes that exhibit cross-reactivity. Here we report a single molecule that demonstrates varying response in different solvents, therefore enabling the combination of probe and solvent to generate the required array diversity. Seven toxic metal ions were introduced as aqueous samples, and PCA and LDA techniques applied. The array could correctly identify all metals in pure water samples, all metals in doped lake-water samples. Further, we have explored the limit of detection of the system for two metal ions, Cu(ii) and Hg(ii), confirming the promise of the system as a candidate to identify toxic metals in environmental water sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection of fishes made by Captain John M. Dow of the Panama Railroad Company represents one of the earliest and most important collection of fishes from the Pacific coast of Central America. There are 133 entries in the Division of Fishes catalog attributed to Dow, of which 81 can currently be located. These represent some 61 species and include 29 types. The material is summarized, catalog numbers and sizes are given, and the current condition of each specimen is assessed. Missing specimens are summarized, with as much information on each as is available. Photographs of 21 of the type specimens are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Array-based sensing methods can be used to distinguish sets of similar analytes, by using a number of non-specific or cross-reactive probes. Following subsequent statistical analysis, patterns or components can be isolated that can be used to unambiguously identify the specific analyte(s) present. Over the past two decades, various arrays for the identification of cations and anions have been reported. These often employ fluorescence methods, owing to good sensitivity and a versatile, easy to read output. The past few years have seen an increase in the number of such studies reported in the literature. This critical review will summarise this recent work, and identify the criteria required for a successful array system. In particular, it will focus on the different types of molecular structures that can be used, the breadth of ions that can be distinguished in a single array, the sensitivity and dynamic range to which they can be identified, and how successfully these aims have been met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As increasing numbers of women are recruited into the U.S. Navy, retention of women (especially in combat occupational specialties) lags behind men. Data indicate that women and men leave the Navy because of impact on their family. Lack of career persistence for women in nontraditional professions such as science, technology, engineering, and math professions has also been attributed to social psychological factors including self-efficacy, stereotype threat, and bias. We build on this research to examine the military and service academies’ socialization of women into a traditionally male profession through role model influence. Surveys were collected from students at the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) on their work–family expectations. Results show a gendered difference in career intentions and influences by male and female non-USNA peers, but not from their families or officers. Expected work–family conflict, gender ideology, and family formation intentions were employed to explore relationships between work and family expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection of individual metal ions is of importance across a range of fields of chemistry including environmental monitoring, and health and disease. Fluorescence is a highly sensitive technique and small fluorescent molecules are widely used for the detection and quantification of metal ions in various applications. Achieving specificity for a single metal from a single sensor is always a challenge. An alternative to selective sensing is the use of a number of non-specific sensors, in an array, which together respond in a unique pattern to each analyte. Here we show that screening a library of compounds can give a small sensor set that can be used to identify a range of metal ions following PCA and LDA. We explore a method for screening the initial compounds to identify the best performing sensors. We then present our method for reducing the size of the sensor array, resulting in a four-membered system, which is capable of identifying nine distinct metal ion species in lake water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentoring relationships can become life and career-altering developmental relationships that are transformative for mentees and the profession. Yet, many psychology training program graduates miss out on the evidence-based benefits of mentorship. In this article, we explore the persistent obstacles to mentoring relationships in graduate education and propose that the key to more and better mentoring resides in a program's culture, not merely its specific faculty or formal mentoring structures. We offer a blueprint for perpetuating a mentoring culture that includes a communitarian ethos, frequent growth-fostering interactions, and mentoring relationships which are more reciprocal and relational in character. We conclude with several recommendations for training program leaders designed to enhance a relationship-rich training environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptide receptors with Zn(ii)–DPA units and a covalently bound fluorescent coumarin indicator on an oxazole-containing scaffold are shown to function as more selective pyrophosphate sensors than the analogous chemosensing ensembles in indicator displacement assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how the behaviors of leaders and peers affect the performance and well-being of military women. Locating our analysis within the conceptual model in this issue, we summarize the empirical literature and make practice and policy recommendations. We synthesize results about unit integration, such as research on the conditions for successful integration of previously excluded groups and on the relationship between cohesion and performance. We apply lessons learned from the history of diversity integration in military and civilian organizations, analyzing the treatment of military personnel by race, gender, and sexual orientation. The opening of ground combat specialties and units to women is the latest step in personnel policy changes broadening the recruitment base. We analyze research on gender integration in contemporary armed forces, focusing on positive and negative effects on women of leader and peer behaviors. We discuss conditions for successfully integrating women and those that tend to lead to failure. We analyze military women's family issues, including the effects of deployments and how leaders and peers can help ameliorate problems-or exacerbate them with inappropriate or unsupportive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Christmas Shearwater Puffinus nativitatis is a small (350 g) Procellariiform seabird that nests on remote islands in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean. Little is known about its demography or conservation needs. We banded and recaptured 1 120 Christmas Shearwaters on Kure Atoll, the northwestern-most of the Hawaiian Islands, on 60 occasions during a 20-year period, 1995-2014. To provide demographic information that is lacking for this species, we used robust design mark-recapture models to estimate apparent annual survival, emigration, capture probabilities, and size of the study population. Annual survival of residents was 0.864 SE 0.034, which is typical for seabirds this size. The oldest known bird was at least 17 years and 1 month old. Of birds banded as chicks, the average age of first recapture was 3.9 years. Among birds captured, 11% appeared to be transients. The annual emigration rate was 0.249 SE 0.096. Thirteen shearwaters captured on Kure originally were banded on Midway Atoll; three of were captured multiple times and presumably were breeding on Kure, indicating there is exchange between the colonies on those two islands. The size of the study population averaged 358 birds, with an increasing trend and an estimate of 480 birds in the last two years. The primary reason for the population increase was eradication of Polynesian rats Rattus exulans in 1995, which has resulted in a 10-fold increase in shearwater population size since the last estimate in the 1980s. The high survival rate and increasing number of birds indicate that the Kure Christmas Shearwater population is robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study examines an immune mechanism that contributes to the antidepressant effects of whole-body hyperthermia. • Whole-body hyperthermia led to an acute, time-limited increase in the ratio of interleukin-6 (IL-6):soluble IL-6 receptor. • Increased ratio of IL-6:soluble IL-6 receptor was associated with the anti-depressant effect of whole-body hyperthermia. There is urgent need for novel antidepressant treatments that confer therapeutic benefits via engagement with identified mechanistic targets. The objective of the study was to determine whether activation of the classical anti-inflammatory interleukin-6 signaling pathways is associated with the antidepressant effects of whole-body hyperthermia. A 6-week, randomized, double-blind study compared whole-body hyperthermia with a sham condition in a university-based medical center. Medically healthy participants aged 18–65 years who met criteria for major depressive disorder, were free of psychotropic medication use, and had a baseline 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score ≥ 16 were randomized with 1-to-1 allocation in blocks of 6 to receive whole-body hyperthermia or sham. Of 338 individuals screened, 34 were randomized, 30 received interventions and 26 had ≥ 2 blood draws and depressive symptom assessments. Secondary data analysis examined change in the ratio of IL-6:soluble IL-6 receptor pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at weeks 1 and 4. Hierarchical linear modeling tested whether increased IL-6:soluble IL-6 receptor ratio post-intervention was associated with decreased depressive symptom at weeks 1, 2, 4 and 6 for those randomized to whole-body hyperthermia. Twenty-six individuals were randomized to whole-body hyperthermia [ n = 12; 75 % female; age = 37.9 years (SD = 15.3) or sham [ n = 14; 57.1 % female; age = 41.1 years (SD = 12.5). When compared to the sham condition, active whole-body hyperthermia only increased the IL-6:soluble IL-6 receptor ratio post-treatment [ F (3,72) = 11.73, p <.001], but not pre-intervention or at weeks 1 and 4. Using hierarchical linear modeling, increased IL-6:sIL-6R ratio following whole-body hyperthermia moderated depressive symptoms at weeks 1, 2, 4 and 6, such that increases in the IL-6:soluble IL-6 receptor ratio were associated with decreased depressive symptoms at weeks 1, 2, 4 and 6 for those receiving the active whole-body hyperthermia compared to sham treatment (B = –229.44 , t = -3.82, p <.001). Acute activation of classical intereukin-6 signaling might emerge as a heretofore unrecognized novel mechanism that could be harnessed to expand the antidepressant armamentarium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares outdoor adventure-based leader development programs with a traditional non-outdoor program to test predictions about differential effects on leader development outcomes. Participants were drawn from the population of U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen involved in experiential leader development programs as a component of their training and education. Three concurrent experiential leader development programs were compared in terms of their impact on leader development outcomes, including leader identity, leader efficacy, and organizational cynicism. Two programs were outdoor, adventure-based experiences; one was a conventional, non-outdoor experience. We found that outdoor adventure-based programs varied in their effects on leader development outcomes, whereas the non-outdoor program had no significant effects on outcomes. Implications of these varied effects on leader development are discussed in terms of the implementation of theory-driven leadership development experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Kaupichthys atronasus Schultz, 1953 is recorded from two specimens from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Phyllophichthus xenodontus Gosline, 1951 is recorded from two specimens collected from Egypt. Geographic variation in this species is discussed. Gorgasia preclara Böhlke & Randall, 1981 is recorded from a photograph taken of a live individual at Dahab, Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fang et al. (2015: Geologic evidence for chaotic behavior of the planets and its constraints on the third-order eustatic sequences at the end of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age) claim to have identified a comprehensive suite of orbital periodicities (Milankovitch cycles) in a Permian succession in southern China through the use of spectral analysis. We refute their claim on the grounds that their spectral analytic method – specifically, the estimation of significance thresholds – greatly overestimates the significance of the periodicities. We show that the same method, implemented in the same software package, yields ‘significant’ cycle periods in purely random, synthesised data. In an earlier paper, we warned that the cyclostratigraphic community is generating large numbers of similarly false claims of orbital periodicities in stratigraphic data by making the same mistakes as Fang et al. We urge greater awareness of this problem among editors, reviewers, readers and users of the cyclostratigraphic literature. Further, all cyclostratigraphic conclusions dependent on the results of this kind of spectral analysis, including but not restricted to astrochronological timescale calibrations, should be regarded with suspicion unless confirmed by more rigorous methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the contribution of ichthyologists and authors John T. Nichols, Henry Weed Fowler, George Dwight Franklin, Richard Jones Phillips and Waldron Dewitt Miller to 1913 issue of the journal "Copeia."

Objective: We examined the effectiveness of blue force tracking (BFT) decision support for dismounted infantry soldiers.Background: Technologies to support combat identification (CID) are rapidly evolving and may be deployable to dismounted soldiers in the future. BFT systems are designed to mitigate the risk of fratricide by supplying positional information regarding friendly units to enhance situation awareness.Method: Participants played the role of a dismounted infantry soldier in a first-person perspective gaming environment and made engagement decisions for a series of simulated targets, half of which were enemies and half of which were friends.Results: Participants performed better overall when they were able to use a BFT system than when they performed the task without assistance. When a 10-s latency was added to the updating of position information in the BFT, participants made significantly more false alarms (engaged a friendly target) regardless of whether they knew about the latency.Conclusion: The results indicate the promise of a personal BFT device to reduce the likelihood of fratricide by dismounted infantry soldiers. The results, however, also indicate that the effectiveness of such a device can be dramatically reduced when it does not provide real-time data.Application: Potential applications of this research include development of performance standards for BFT devices and assessment of decision support for dismounted soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We examined the effectiveness of blue force tracking (BFT) decision support for dismounted infantry soldiers. Background: Technologies to support combat identification (CID) are rapidly evolving and may be deployable to dismounted soldiers in the future. BFT systems are designed to mitigate the risk of fratricide by supplying positional information regarding friendly units to enhance situation awareness. Method: Participants played the role of a dismounted infantry soldier in a first-person perspective gaming environment and made engagement decisions for a series of simulated targets, half of which were enemies and half of which were friends. Results: Participants performed better overall when they were able to use a BFT system than when they performed the task without assistance. When a 10-s latency was added to the updating of position information in the BFT, participants made significantly more false alarms (engaged a friendly target) regardless of whether they knew about the latency. Conclusion: The results indicate the promise of a personal BFT device to reduce the likelihood of fratricide by dismounted infantry soldiers. The results, however, also indicate that the effectiveness of such a device can be dramatically reduced when it does not provide real-time data. Application: Potential applications of this research include development of performance standards for BFT devices and assessment of decision support for dismounted soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Eu and Tb complexes of four different chiral ligands incorporating an azaxanthone sensitiser has been evaluated as probes for the bicarbonate anion. Their binding affinities were assessed at ambient pH with bicarbonate, lactate, citrate, phosphate and serum albumin. Binding was signalled by modulation of circularly polarised luminescence and apparent affinity constants were measured by examining changes in emission intensity ratios. Competition experiments show that with these species and ATP present at normal physiological values, bicarbonate can be determined selectively over the concentration range 10 to 35 m M. Bicarbonate levels are also reported by using a mixture of Eu and Tb complexes of a common ligand, examining the ratio of red/green emitted light. These methods have been adapted for the determination of bicarbonate in human serum and used for the assessment of mitochondrial levels of bicarbonate in several different cell types with confocal microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Princess Point promontory at Cootes Paradise, Hamilton, Ontario has a long, rich history of human activity. This paper provides a synopsis of the archaeological work conducted on Princess Point, and summarizes the history of human activity on the promontory. The Princess Point site was discovered on the promontory in the 1960s by archaeologists from McMaster University. Excavations were conducted by McMaster in the late 1960s, and by the University of Toronto, Mississauga since 2000. These excavations demonstrate that Princess Point was used by native peoples from Early Archaic times (8000-6000 B.C.) through to the end of the Woodland period at A.D. 1650. The most intense occupation occurred during the Early Late Woodland period (A.D. 500-1000) by people of the Princess Point Complex. Euro-Canadians began using Princess Point during the late eighteenth century. In the twentieth century, the promontory was incorporated into the Royal Botanical Gardens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Davies-Colley, Robert J., David G. Smith, Robert C. Ward, Graham G. Bryers, Graham B. McBride, John M. Quinn, and Mike R. Scarsbrook, 2011. Twenty Years of New Zealand's National Rivers Water Quality Network: Benefits of Careful Design and Consistent Operation. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(4):750-771. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00554.x Abstract: This paper reviews New Zealand's National Rivers Water Quality Network (NRWQN), which is now in its third decade of monitoring. The NRWQN is noteworthy for being operationally stable throughout its history, and the resulting consistency is increasingly valuable for detecting water quality trends and for 'anchoring' temporary special purpose monitoring campaigns. The NRWQN was carefully designed following considerable effort to learn from monitoring experiences elsewhere. Monthly visits are made to 77 sites (all near hydrometric stations) on 35 river systems that cumulatively drain about one half of the national landscape. 'Core' (routinely measured) variables are: conductivity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, visual clarity, turbidity, colored dissolved organic matter, fecal indicator bacteria, and different forms of nitrogen and phosphorus (italics indicate field measurements). Associated benthic biological monitoring comprises monthly visual assessment of periphyton and annual sampling for macro-invertebrates. We overview the conception, design, initiation, and operational history of the NRWQN, and highlight the diverse applications of its datasets including numerous scientific applications, national-scale modeling of material fluxes, and state-of-environment reporting and practical water management at both regional and national scale. The qualified success of the NRWQN can probably be attributed to careful (and parsimonious) design and consistent operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features Canadian ichthyologist Joseph Schieser Nelson. He was born on April 12, 1937 in San Francisco, California. During the summers of 1957 and 1958, he was busy tagging salmon on the Nass River near the Nishga Indian Village of Aiyansh. He met his wife, Claudine Hancock, in January 1963 in the home of Tom Northcote, a professor of limnology.

Abstract: This paper introduces piezoresistive encoders that can provide information on the performance of ratcheting actuation systems, and may be useful in future applications that require position determination. One unique feature of the encoders is that they gain their piezoresistance from the bulk properties of polycrystalline silicon without additional fabrication steps. In this study, two encoders are considered: a parallel-guiding encoder in an on-chip Wheatstone bridge, and a piezoresistive microdisplacement transducer (PMT) encoder in an on-chip Wheatstone bridge. In tests, the encoders each generated measurable signals, with the PMT encoder providing the best sensitivity. The PMT encoder operated at actuation frequencies up to 920Hz and produced a signal between 2V and 3.2V (applied gain of 1000). The PMT encoder produced unique signals corresponding to distinct ideal and non-ideal behaviors of a ratchet wheel actuation system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The broadly distributed Indo-Pacific moray eel Anarchias cantonensis (Schultz, 1943), heretofore treated as a single species, consists of three species: A. cantonensis, A. exulatus, a new species, and A. schultzi, a new species, based on geographic distribution, coloration, external morphometrics, and vertebral counts. We examined 112 specimens and determined that the true A. cantonensis is distributed throughout the eastern Indian Ocean, western Pacific, and tropical central Pacific, and has a mean vertebral formula of 91/93/104. Anarchias exulatus is distributed anti-tropically in the central and southeastern Pacific and is characterized by a unique mottling pattern and a mean vertebral formula of 100/103/114. A third species, named here as A. schultzi, is characterized by a mean vertebral formula of 96/99/109, a plain brown coloration in adult form, and is restricted geographically to Tonga, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and the Caroline Islands. At the Tonga Islands, which reside on the edge of Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, all three species are present, but maintain their morphological distinctiveness and segregate ecologically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1942, an effort was made to establish an award for outstanding achievement in herpetology by an established professional, to be named the Alexander G. Ruthven Award. Financial constraints at the time prevented the realization of the effort. It would be 47 years before such an award was finally established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article profiles Jørgen G. Nielsen, an ichthyologist at the Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen (ZMUC) in Denmark. Nielsen was born on April 2, 1932 in Copenhagen and has a dairyman as a father. Nielsen decided to pursue a career in biology and decided to study zoology at the University of Copenhagen with an aim of having a career in natural history. A job opening for the position of ichthyologist at the ZMUC was advertised after Nielsen was discharged from the Navy in 1959.

The article profiles couple Stan and Marilyn Weitzman who, according to the article, have one of the longest-running partnerships in ichthyology and will celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary in 2008. It says that both developed an early interest in biology and have attended the same colleges. In 1945, Stan joined the Navy which lasted for about two years. Meanwhile, it was in 1982 when Marilyn was offered a chance to broaden her education in ichthyology.

Pteropsaron springeri, new species, is described from 18 specimens collected from the Philippines and Indonesia. It differs from all other species of the Pteropsaron/ Osopsaron complex in that the first dorsal fin has only three spines and is displaced anteriorly to lie over the posterior end of the occiput. The proximal ends of the pterygiophores lie against the second and third neural arches, which are bent forward to form horizontal processes that accommodate the pterygiophores. Based on a synapomorphy in the suspensorium, we suggest that the relationships of Pteropsaron and related genera (subfamily Hemerocoetinae) lie with the Creediidae and Trichonotidae, and not with the Percophidae, where they have traditionally been placed. An abbreviated key is provided to the family Trichonotidae as we construe it, which contains three subfamilies: the Creediinae, Hemerocoetinae, and Trichonotinae. We tentatively recognize eight genera in the Hemerocoetinae: Hemerocoetes, and the "Pteropsaron-like" genera Acanthaphritis, Osopsaron, Pteropsaron, Dactylopsaron, Enigmapercis, Matsubaraea, and Squamicreedia, although the relationship of the former to the latter seven needs further investigation. The species of Osopsaron and Pteropsaron are treated briefly, and some new information is presented. We provisionally place two species in Osopsaron (0. verecundum and O. karlik) and seven species in Pteropsaron (P. evolans, P. formosensis, P. heemstrai, P. incisum, P. natalensis, P. neocaledonicus, and P. springeri). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profiles author and educator William Beverly Scott. Family and educational background; Details of her marriage with Mildred Grace Fairfield; Career achievements.

Rats were eradicated from Mokoli'i, a 1.6-ha island off the east shore of O'ahu, using snap traps, cage traps, and diphacinone bait stations. A total of 18 black rats (Rattus rattus) were caught, and 354 bait blocks were used. There was no sign of rats on the island after 27 May 2002. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) nest on Mokoli'i, but only a single chick survived during 1999-2001; the number of surviving chicks increased to 126 in 2002 and 185 in 2003. The number of intertidal invertebrates and native plants, including the endangered Carter's panic grass (Panicum fauriei var. carteri), also appeared to increase after rat eradication. Rats had a devastating impact on the flora and fauna of Mokoli'i, and their eradication has allowed a dramatic recovery of native species. The majority of the labor for the eradication effort was provided by the local community, demonstrating what can be achieved with dedicated volunteers and community support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profiles ichthyologist Victor Gruschka Springer. Personal background; Educational background; His army career; Academic career; Contributions to ichthyology.

Profiles ichthyologist Carter Rowell Gilbert. Family background; Educational Background; Career achievements.

A new genus and species of congrid eel, Castleichthys auritus, is described from a single specimen collected from 396 m off northwestern Australia. It belongs to the subfamily Congrinae and is characterized by a slender and flexible tail, a free flange on the upper lip, no plicae or other ornamentation on skin of head, large eye, uniserial maxillary and mandibular teeth, and conspicuous black pectoral fins. The vertebral formula is 15-36-128. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signal-detection theory (SDT) accounts of recognition judgments depend on the assumption that recognition decisions result from a single familiarity-based process. However, fits of a hybrid SDT model, called dual-process theory (DPT), have provided evidence for the existence of a second, recollection-based process. In 2 experiments, the authors tested predictions of DPT and SDT by comparing the invariance of parameter estimates between yes/no (Y/N) and 2-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) testing paradigms. Both experiments showed DPT recollection estimates in Y/N to be poorly correlated with recollection estimates in 2AFC. In Experiment 2, SDT predictions explained more variance than DPT predictions. The authors evaluate and discuss the extent to which each model possesses theoretical validity versus computational flexibility in curve fitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Nutrient sensing plays important roles in fungal development in general, and specifically in critical aspects of pathogenicity and virulence, for both animal and plant pathogens. Dimorphic pathogens such as the phytopathogenic smut fungi, Ustilago maydis and Microbotryum violaceum , must switch from a yeast-like to a filamentous form in order to cause disease. Two genes encoding methylammonium permeases (MEPs) were identified from each of these latter fungi and all the encoded proteins were most similar to Mep2p, the high-affinity permease from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that plays a direct role in pseudohyphal or filamentous growth for that organism. This is the first report of MEPs from pathogenic fungi. The two genes from U. maydis and one of the genes from M. violaceum were expressed in diploid S. cerevisiae mutants deleted for all three mep genes (mep1mep2mep3 ). Each of the heterologous genes could complement the severe growth defect of the S. cerevisiae mutant on low ammonium. Moreover, the U. maydis ump2 gene, initially detected as an upregulated gene in budding cells, was also able to complement the pseudohyphal defect characteristic of the mutant yeast. This gene is thus one of few heterologous MEP genes capable of efficiently restoring pseudohyphal growth in yeast. For U. maydis , disruption of ump2 eliminated the filamentous phenotype of haploid cells on low ammonium, while ump1 disruption only slightly reduced methylamine uptake. The most significant drop in methylamine uptake was seen for the ump2 and the ump1ump2 double mutants. Moreover, when grown in liquid medium, the ump1ump2 double mutant aggregated and sedimented. Also, the importance of a putative site for phosphorylation by protein kinase A was investigated in both Mep2p and Ump2p via site-directed mutagenesis of the respective genes. A mutation predicted to prevent phosphorylation of either protein, still allowed each to provide growth on low ammonium, but eliminated their abilities to provide pseudohyphal growth for the S. cerevisiae triple mutant. These findings allow us to present a model of how ammonium transporters play a role in regulating dimorphic growth in fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on larval gobiidae, Teleostei: perciformes, of Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. Generic or specific identifications of 21 goby larvae belonging to 10 genera; Microscopic observations of combined patterns of melanophores and chromatophores; Comparison of countable features of larvae and reared juveniles with those of adult Caribbean gobies.

The use of ridge-mapping to assess bone levels available for implant placement in the anterior maxilla avoids some of the problems associated with CT scanning. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of ridge-mapping callipers in determining bony ridge widths in the anterior maxilla prior to dental implant surgery. A modified surgical stent was designed to locate the beaks of ridge-mapping callipers at the same points on the jaw before and after mucoperiosteal flap reflection. Eleven subjects were included in the study. Measurements (n=100) were made at 25 implant sites, 50 “pre-operative” and 50 “intra-operative” at 3 mm and 6 mm distances from the crest of the ridge. There were statistically significant (P<0.0001) differences between pre- and intra-operative measurements. Based on pre-operative measurements, clinical judgements were made as to whether supplementary procedures such as guided bone regeneration would be required. Unanticipated supplementary procedures were required at 10 fixture sites. The findings indicate that ridge-mapping alone is insufficient to accurately predict bone available for implantation in the anterior maxilla. It is suggested that ridge-mapping may provide reliable information about bone levels when the labial aspect of the anterior ridge is not markedly concave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the expedition of the Albatross ship in the Philippines. Purpose of the expedition; Results of its expedition; Estimate on the number of fishes that were collected from the expedition.

Studies the distribution of latencies constrains theories of decision time. Application of the random-walk model; Mean reaction time and response accuracy as a function of signal strength; Changes in the share of distribution; Manipulation of signa strength.