Flight ways: life and loss at the edge of extinction

Biodiversity is the term given to the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. The biodiversity we see today is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans. It forms the web of life of which we are an integral part and upon which we so fully depend. Biological resources are the pillars upon which we build civilizations. Nature's products support such diverse industries as agriculture, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, horticulture, construction and waste treatment. The loss of biodiversity threatens our food supplies, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and sources of wood, medicines and energy. It also interferes with essential ecological functions. While the loss of individual species catches our attention, it is the fragmentation, degradation, and outright loss of forests, wetlands, coral reefs, and other ecosystems that poses the gravest threat to biological diversity. While loss of species has always occurred as a natural phenomenon, the pace of extinction has accelerated dramatically as a result of human activity. Ecosystems are being fragmented or eliminated, and innumerable species are in decline or already extinct. In this context this study has tried to bring out an assessment of the biodiversity in the Ratapani Forests block of Dungarpur range. Pure stand of Tectona Grandis can be seen in Dungarpur district where it dominates the vegetation but in varied degree of degradation due to biotic influence. Associated trees seen in the area are Diospyros melanoxylon, Aegle marmelos, Anogeissus latifolia(which is the most common), Bauhinia racemosa, Soymida febrifuga, Mitragyna parvifolia and Terminalia tomentosa. Undergrowth plant varieties cover Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Carissa opaca etc. The present study found that the increasing pressure of both human and livestock population is taking a heavy toll on the biodiversity of the area particularly in terms of rapid falling of trees and excessive grazing of livestock. On the flat plateau and ridges of the hills most of the fertile soil has been washed away due to serious erosion and these areas are not capable for good teak growth. It is therefore suggested that as the soil of hilly and plateau tracks is fragile and has a thin horizon so these areas must be monitored very closely so that the soil erosion due to removal of vegetation cover can be checked by planting of new saplings which can bind the soil in short term and then these areas too can be made viable to support the teak vegetation as they were supporting prior to the deterioration conditions were set in. The study also suggests various ways and means to arrest the degradation of biodiversity in the area and to regenerate the forest cover on the patches which are rendered barren due to manmade practices.

Quantifying responses of aquatic insects to environmental change

Atmospheric aerosol has significant impact on climate. It influences radiative transfer by scattering and absorbing sunlight and by changing the microphysical structure, lifetime, and amount of the clouds. Due to its short lifetime, the spatial and temporal distributions of tropospheric aerosol are highly inhomogeneous. Aircraft have proven to be an effective platform in characterizing the atmospheric aerosol. To maximize the potential and to reduce the artifacts associated with aircraft sampling, both improvements in existing instruments and developments of new instruments are required. To increase the speed of submicron aerosol size distribution measurements, a mixing condensation nucleus counter (MCNC) has been developed. By carefully designing the mixing chamber and condenser, the response time of the MCNC was significantly reduced. Our experiments demonstrate that a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) coupled with the developed MCNC can measure complete aerosol size distributions in as little as 2 seconds. The effects of bends and elbows on the diffusional losses of particle in nanometer range were studied. The results show that the effect of bends and elbows on particle diffusion loss is significant, and for Reynolds number smaller than 250, the enhancement of diffusion losses due to bends and elbows is sensitive to both the relative orientations of the bends and elbows and the lengths of straight tubing between them. Because of this sensitivity, direct calibration or simulation is required to assess nanoparticle penetration efficiencies for any flow system containing bends or elbows at low Reynolds number. When the Reynolds number exceeds 250, the enhancement is insensitive to the actual flow configurations. Experimental results are presented, which can be used for design of aerosol flow systems at Reynolds number larger than 250. To minimize the airborne sampling bias, an advanced differential mobility analyzer (DMA) system for measuring submicron aerosol size distribution at ambient relative humidity, with special attention to implementation on aircraft, has been developed. The system includes an active RH controller, a cylindrical differential mobility analyzer (CDMA), and a condensation nucleus counter. A cascade controller consisting of two PID modules maintains the RH inside the CDMA at ambient RH by actively adding or removing water vapor from the air stream. The flows are controlled with feedback PID controllers, which compensate for the variation of pressure as the aircraft changes altitude. This system was integrated into the CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft and used to measure ambient size distributions during the Aerosol Characterization Experiment-Asia (ACE-Asia), carried out from March to May, 2001, in Japan. During the ACE-Asia experiment, the above DMA system, together with an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS), was used to characterize aerosol size distributions in East Asia during 19 flights on board of CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft. Besides providing the aerosol size characteristics, the data were combined with chemical composition and aerosol mixing state measurements to predict the vertical profile of aerosol extinction, which was compared with those derived from simultaneous direct measurements of aerosol optical depth by the NASA 14-channel sunphotometer. Agreement between the predicted and derived aerosol extinction varies for different scenarios, but the discrepancies were generally within the calculated uncertainties.

The effects of changing climates on seed production and seed viability on tropical plant species

Space flight is a new experience for man. Tension on the weight-bearing components of the musculo-skeletal system is greatly reduced, as is the work required for movement. The body responds by a reductive remodelling of the musculo-skeletal system. Protein is lost from muscles with anti-gravity functions. The rate of Ca loss from the weight-bearing bones is about 1 % per month. Voluntary dietary intake is reduced during space flight by about 20 %. These adaptations to weightlessness leave astronauts ill-equipped for life with gravity when they return to earth. Rates of energy expenditure are similar to that expected on the ground for comparable activities. Protein intake is adequate in flight but may be limiting after space flight due to substrate competition between repleting muscle and other anabolic processes. The most serious nutritional problem is the inability to maintain energy balance on missions with high exercise requirements. The poor dietary intake is probably a consequence of engineering-imposed environmental constraints. The low levels of lighting in the space vehicle may not be enough to promote vitamin D synthesis. Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that a normal well-balanced diet with plenty of fluids will be as healthy in space as on earth. The long-term goal of the manned space programme is to develop the means of sustaining human life beyond earth. This will involve the development of technologies to grow food, maintain a breathable atmosphere and recycle waste products with the only external input being energy.

As the complexity of systems increases, so does what can go wrong with them. For example, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas’ design for the F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft in 1967 and the aircraft’s first test flight was in 1972, 5 years later. In contrast, the US military selected Lockheed Martin as one of two companies to develop the F-35 Lightning II in 1997 and its first flight was in 2006, 9 years later, and the first production aircraft had its first flight in 2011, 14 years after the selection. This complex program’s problems have been well-documented by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and have contributed to the project’s long lead time and skyrocketing budget. GAO reports on other military projects reveal that problems the F-35 project has experienced are shared among all of these projects. In this dissertation I posit that similar problems plague all complex systems engineering projects and that a combination of these problems may lead to negative consequences, such as budget and schedule exceedances, quality concerns, not achieving mission objectives, as well as accidents resulting in loss of human life.Accidents, or unexpected events resulting in loss, have been well-studied over time and we currently have sophisticated theories that help explain how they occur. The leading theory is that most accidents are a result of an accumulation of “mundane” errors at an organization, and that these errors are similar across industries. However, these mundane errors, such as failing to follow procedures and poorly training personnel, occur in all companies, such as companies that design and manufacture military aircraft. My theory is that these mundane errors accumulate in all organizations and result in many different kinds of systems engineering failures, including failures traditionally referred to as “accidents” that result in loss of life, as well as other types of failures which I refer to as “project failures”.What can be learned from these systems engineering failures? In this dissertation, I begin by mining publicly-available reports to determine whether seemingly dissimilar failures, accidents and project failures, share common causes. I then explain the similarities and dissimilarities between these causes and provide examples from the failures I studied. To help provide systems engineers with actionable advice on these common causes, I describe how I linked the causes to recommendations from accident reports in a cause-recommendation network. I then discuss the results of interviews I held with systems engineers to determine whether the problems I identified in past failures occur in similar ways to the problems they have encountered on their projects. I also discuss the criticisms these systems engineers have about systems engineering education based on the tasks their newly-hired systems engineers struggle with. I explain how I used what I learned about problems in systems engineering that lead to failures to develop survey questions designed to gauge whether systems engineering education at Purdue prepares students to identify and fix these problems. Then, to help systems engineers learn from the data I collected and solve the problems they encounter on their projects, I describe how I built an interactive, web-based tool that presents expert advice on systems engineering failures. I finally explain the results from feedback I received from experts and novices in systems engineering to determine whether this tool could be useful for engineers in this context.

Reproduction in variable habitats is characterized by uncertainty and requires selection of suitable conditions. Environmental variability may be temporal, spatial, or both. The same site may differ in its suitability for reproduction at different times within a reproductive period, and several associated sites may differ at any one time (Stearns, 1992). The appropriate response to temporal variability depends on the predictability of the environment. In periodically changing habitats, reproduction at predictably successful times is the normal case, whereas in an unpredictable and changing habitat, assessing and reacting to rapidly changing conditions may be essential. Anurans spawning in rain-filled ponds of unpredictable duration may be expected to synchronize their spawning with rainfall, reproduce more than once per season in favorable years and skip reproduction in unfavorable years (see Barandun and Reyer, 1997a, 1997b; Barandun et al., 1997; and references therein). The response to spatial variability is more complex. In patchily distributed breeding sites, there are three possibilities: (1) individuals can return to their natal site throughout their life, provided the site persists over sufficient time; (2) they can disperse to new sites as juveniles and thereafter remain sedentary as adults; and (3) they can remain nomadic and search for new sites throughout their lives. Dispersal is a common phenomenon among all groups of organisms (Hanski and Gilpin, 1991) and can lead to genetic exchange among populations, colonization of new habitats, and recolonization after local extinction (Greenwood, 1982; Hansson, 1991). When a local population is saturated, dispersal can be favored even when there is only a small chance for individuals to become established in another population (Hansson, 1991). Dispersal does not exclude the possibility that some individuals may return to their natal sites. Whether sexually mature individuals exhibit site fidelity depends on the scale of environmental variability and life expectancy. When reproduction is likely to be successful at the same site throughout an individual's life, site fidelity may be the best choice. Several species of anurans breeding in stable and permanent ponds seem to choose this strategy (Heusser, 1960; Berven and Grudzien, 1990; Reading et al., 1991). Dispersal to new sites will be favored when the suitability of the habitat changes quickly or is unpredictable. Ovipositing in different ponds also spreads the risk of reproductive loss (Kaplan and Cooper, 1984). Empirical data, however, are scarce for anurans, mostly because of methodological constraints. Juvenile dispersal seems to be widespread, but adult dispersal and spawn distribution is poorly documented (Merrell, 1970; Daugherty and Sheldon, 1982; Reading et al., 1991). Bombina variegata uses various ponds for reproduction, most of them temporary (Bauer, 1987). We studied a population in a habitat with a variety of different temporary ponds, where pond conditions change unpredictably within and among years, mainly due to climatic conditions and human activities (Barandun and Reyer, 1997a). The question was whether individuals spawn in a single pond or spread the risk of reproductive failure, mainly due to desiccation (Barandun and Reyer, 1997b), by ovipositing in different ponds within a breeding season.

Objective To comprehend the effectiveness of applying traditional Chinese medicine on clinical aviation medicine and find existing deficiency by reviewing and analyzing its application and basic research on preventing and treating common diseases in military pilots, and to provide references for diagnosing, treating and preventing pilot's common and flight-related diseases.Literature resources selection Domestic research papers, case reports, reviews and monograph.Literature quotation Fifty-two published papers, case reports and 1 monograph were cited.Literature synthesis In past 20 years, such treatment concepts as objective treatment, disease depended script,combined Chinese therapy with western's, acupuncture and manipulation, as well as external curing had shown their advantages in treating flying personnel's common digestive, cervical and lumbar,ENT, neurological and mental diseases, as well as in releasing fatigue and exerting the benefits of rehabilitation and life-cultivation.Experimental studies also showed the predominance of Chinese herbal compound or its extracts on maintaining cerebral function, antiradiation, anti-fatigue, stress endurance, antinoise and improving flight endurance.Chinese herb compound preparation also showed preponderant accommodation and recovery abilities on treating immune function disorder, bone loss,homodynamic changes and organ injury that were caused by the exposure in weightless environment of space.Conclusions Traditional Chinese medicine has shown its great advantages on treating flying personnel's common diseases and improving their flight endurance, stress response, anti-hypoxia ability, etc.The particular simple, convenient and economical characters enable traditional Chinese medicine to exert its great value on ensuring flying personnel's life and health, and on improving battle and training effectiveness.The application of traditional Chinese medicine has especially won the success in China's manned space flight project. Key words: Medicine,Chinese traditional ; Drugs,Chinese herbal ; Disease treating & preventing ;

Brachiopods are a key group in Phanerozoic marine diversity analyses for their excellent fossil record and distinctive evolutionary history. A genus-level survey of raw diversity trajectories allows the identification of the Brachiopod Big Five, episodes of major genus losses in the phylum which are compared with the established Big Five mass extinctions of Phanerozoic marine invertebrates. The two lists differ in that the end-Cretaceous extinction appears subdued for brachiopods, whereas the mid-Carboniferous is recognized as an event with significant loss of brachiopod genera. At a higher taxonomic level, a review of temporal ranges of rhynchonelliform orders reveals episodes of synchronous termination of multiple orders, here termed clade extinctions. The end-Ordovician, Late Devonian and end-Permian events are registered as both mass extinctions and clade extinctions. The Late Cambrian and the Early Jurassic are identified as the other two clade extinction events. Coincident with the Early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event, the last clade extinction of brachiopods is defined by the disappearance of the last two spire-bearing orders, Athyridida and Spiriferinida. Their diversity trajectory through the recovery after the end-Permian crisis parallels that of the extant terebratulides and rhynchonellides until a Late Triassic peak but diverge afterwards. The end-Triassic diversity decline and Toarcian vanishing of spire-bearers correspond with contraction in their spatial distribution. The observed patterns and extinction selectivity may be explained both ecologically and physiologically. The specialized adaptation of morphologically diverse spire-bearers, as well as their fixed lophophore and passive feeding put them at a disadvantage at times of environmental crises, manifest in their end-Triassic near-extinction and Toarcian demise. Similar analyses of other clade extinctions may further improve our understanding of drivers and processes of extinction.

Throughout our entire life, memory is central to our ability to carry out everyday tasks. Therefore, diseases that affect cognition have severe consequences, that influence patients' daily lives. However, not only do deficits in forming or recalling memories impact peoples' lives but also the inability to forget traumatic events or fear towards specific stimuli, such as with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders and phobias. Hence, it is essential to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms in order to help people with any of these disorders. In the first study of this thesis, I investigated if nuclear calcium, which is known to control cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)/CREB binding protein (CBP)-mediated transcription is required for the formation of memory. Indeed, I found that inhibition of hippocampal nuclear calcium impairs memory formation in two hippocampus-dependent tasks. I further investigated the possible mechanisms that contribute to these deficits and found that dysregulation of nuclear calcium leads to alterations in dendritic morphology. I was able to rescue these morphological alterations via overexpression of the vascular endothelial growth factor D (VEGFD). VEGFD is regulated by nuclear calcium under basal conditions and is known to be important for the maintenance of dendritic morphology. Additionally, I could show that overexpression of VEGFD rescued memory deficits caused by nuclear calcium inhibition, probably due to the restoration of the dendritic architecture. In the second study, we aimed to investigate whether DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) are required for memory formation. We found that DNMT3a2 is regulated by nuclear calcium and is induced upon neuronal activity. Additionally, we were able to show that the level of DNMT3a2 determines memory performance in mice. Downregulation of DNMT3a2 caused memory deficits and, in addition, a decrease in DNMT3a2 expression was associated with age-dependent memory decline. Further, restoring the level of DNMT3a2 in aged mice rescued memory impairments. In addition, we showed that DNMT3a2 expression correlates with global methylation levels, and we were able to identify two of the target genes of DNMT3a2, namely, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (ARC) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In the third part of this thesis, I studied if nuclear calcium is also required for fear memory extinction, which is routinely used as a model of PTSD. It is widely accepted that during fear extinction a new memory is built up that inhibits the previous, acquired memory. Though it is known that memory formation and fear extinction share common mechanisms, studies investigating the role of transcription in fear extinction are partly controversial. Here, I have shown that nuclear calcium is involved in fear extinction, pointing to a requirement of gene transcription. As I have shown in the first study of this thesis, nuclear calcium, which maintains the dendritic architecture primarily via alterations in the dendritic tree, probably also contributes to fear memory extinction. In summary, I have shown in this thesis that nuclear calcium mediates two forms of cognition, memory formation and fear extinction. I provide evidence that nuclear calcium-regulated VEGFD maintains the dendritic structure, which is important for the permissiveness of the neuron to process information required for long-term adaptations. Additionally, nuclear calcium regulates DNMT3a2, and we show that the level of DNMT3a2 has an impact on memory formation. Overexpression of DNMT3a2 restored the level of DNMT3a2 in aged mice and rescued age-dependent memory deficits.

Refining the ecological role of stingrays in coral reef ecosystems

Introduction : In the Colombian Caribbean, the expansion of conventional management systems (CS) of extensive livestock has lead a massive loss of tropical dry forest (Td-F). Despite silvopastoral systems (SPS) have been implemented in this region, there are few studies evaluating the incidence of this type of management on bats. Objective : Analyze the variation of functional traits of bat ecological groups between fragments of Td-F immersed in CS and SPS belonging to five localities of Cordoba department (Colom - bia). Methodology : Using bat specimens from biological collections, ecological groups were identified based on life history traits, and then each group were compared using morphometric traits related to size (forearm length) and flight (length of digit three and five) between fragments of Td-F immersed in CS and SPS. Results: Six ecological groups were identified. The traits related to size and flight were significantly higher in SPS for two ecological groups (p<0,05). The matrix in the SPS provides habitat for bats, which may offer better conditions for the morphometric development of some key species in the pollination and seed dispersal processes. Conclusion : Although the functional responses of bats were idiosyncratic, silvopastoral management seems to be more sustainable for these mammals. It is important to take into account the type of management of productive systems that improve biodiversity, because they dominate in the matrix of the landscapes, so they are determinant for the maintenance of the species in habitat transformation contexts.

In reality there are various kinds of explanations for each type of extinction. This paper introduces a new theory to explain and to estimate the size and frequency of all extinctions over the entire period of 600 my of the fossil record. The central point was the search for a common pattern and even one common formula. The explanation seemed to be excellent. We will demonstrate in what way death is a fact of life: by making calculations with the new formula: there is a constant margin of 10 pct, and about seven peaks with at least 25 pct of extinction victims. Those peaks occur each 85 million years, but their frequency has increased over time. In principle, the predictability of the next peak is limited, because of chaos (within the solar system and the ecosystem on Earth), the unpredictability of mutations in Nature, of innovations by Man, and let alone the disastrous impacts of asteroids. It also depends on the concept of whether life is cyclical or linear. Therefore, some predictions have a low likelihood of occurrence. In the traditional theory or old vision there are many extinctions and even mass extinctions, each with various theories believed to be their cause. There is no single theory explaining all extinctions. Man was witness to and perhaps later on even guilty of extinctions. Even as early as in the ice ages he tried to find facts and continued later on in the age of science. But we still do not see extinctions in their right perspective, and it would be very useful to change this. The right perspective depends on the modern vision on the structure of the world that is in the chaotic solar system, with changing orbits of the planets. Key words: Extinction, mutation, chaos, ecology, evolution, falsification, prediction, catastrophe, radiation, asteroid, foraminifers, formula, orbit, Venus, Mars, Earth, volcanism.

Terrorism has important direct and indirect economic costs. Direct costs arise from loss of lives, destruction of property, search, and rescue effects, rebuilding of the infrastructure, restoring the quality of life through government assistance, and improved security systems to prevent terrorist attacks.1 According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OE CD), the estimates of the direct costs associated with the 9/11 attack in the United States are as follows: $14 billion (private sector), $1.5 billion (state and local government), $700 million (Federal government), and $11 billion (private and public sector costs for search and rescue operations).2 The indirect costs of terrorist attacks are more difficult to measure. According to the IMF, indirect costs of terrorism are psychological, resulting from pessimism among consumers and investors. This has the potential to depress asset prices and promote flight to quality.3

Bone loss and renal stone are significant medical concerns for bed rest subjects and space flight astronauts. Bone mineral loss occurs as secondary osteoporosis due to the unloading of weight bearing bones during bed rest and space flight. Increased bone resorption and bone metabolic uncoupling promote bone loss through the release of calcium from unloaded weight bearing bones. The rate of bone mineral loss during bed rest and space flight is about 1-2 percent per month, and recovery requires a period three or four times longer. To prevent bone loss caused by bed rest and space flight, a prophylactic countermeasure program based on scientific evidence should be developed.