Populations In Different Locations Research Articles

Divergence and Convergence in Traditional Plant-Based Medicinal Practices of Haitian Migrants in Montreal, Miami and Cayenne

Migrants continue to usee their traditional herbal medicines in their new locations, but few studies have compared therapeutic practices within a diaspora spread among different countries. In order to better understand how medicinal plants and associated practices circulate in the process of transnational migrations, we examine the Haitian diaspora in the cities of Cayenne (French Guiana), Miami (United States), and Montreal (Canada). We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 44) with Haitian migrants in all three locations, and compiled plant inventories in gardens, shops, and through interviews. Our results record a total of 185 species cited among the three localities that were sold in shops, cultivated by informants, or gathered in diverse urban spaces, demonstrating the vitality with which members of the Haitian diaspora continue to use plants from their original pharmacopoeia while highlighting marked dissimilarities among uses. The persistence of phytotherapy practices among migrant populations in different locations is fueled by transnational commercial and individual flows of medicinal plants.

Comparing the emergence of Echinochloa crus‐galli populations in different locations. Part I: Variations in emergence timing and behaviour of two populations

AbstractEchinochloa crus‐galli (L.) P. Beauv. is one of the most important weeds. It is distributed worldwide and has adapted to diverse habitats and climatic conditions. This study aimed to compare the emergence patterns of two populations of E. crus‐galli from different environments at 11 locations across Europe and the Middle East. Seeds of the two populations were collected from maize in Italy and from spring barley in Norway and were then buried in soil in autumn 2015. In the spring of 2016, the soil was disturbed around the usual seedbed preparation date in each location and emergence was recorded. The soil was again disturbed a year later and emergence was recorded for a second season. Total emergence, the times of onset, end and to 50% emergence and the period between 25% and 75% of emergence were analysed by two‐way ANOVA and principal components analysis. The Italian population showed a higher emergence than the Norwegian population in Southern locations, while the ranking was reversed in Northern locations. In almost all locations, a tendency to emerge earlier was recorded for the Norwegian population, but the periods from 25% to 75% emergence were similar for both populations. Total emergence, and the times of onset and end of emergence seemed to be mainly under genotypic (plus maternal) control, suggesting there were different temperature thresholds for seedling emergence in each population. Conversely, the duration of emergence seemed to be mainly under environmental control. This research confirms the high variability between populations and suggests the need to continue identifying key characteristics for the development of efficient models for seedling emergence in specific climates and/or latitudes.

Genetic Diversity of Wheat Stripe Rust Fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici in Yunnan, China.

The stripe rust of wheat is one of the devastating diseases in China, which is caused by fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst). The Yunnan Province of China is located in the south-western part, and holds distinctive geographical and climate features, while wheat growth and epidemics of stripe rust fungus are fully dissimilar to the major wheat-growing regions of China. It is important to discover its origin and migration to control the disease. In this study, 352 isolates were sampled from 11 spots of the Yunnan Province during the wheat growing season from 2004 to 2015 and analyzed with SNPs markers of housekeeping genes. Results revealed that 220 haplotypes were inferred from the concatenating sequences; among them, 5 haplotypes (viz., ‘H86′, ‘H18′, ‘H8′, ‘H15′ and ‘H23′) comprised over 24.5% of the population. The haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity, mutation rate and recombination events were 0.992, 6.04 × 10−3, 4.46 × 10−3 and 18.0 respectively, which revealed the genetic diversity of Pst populations among all locations. Four grouping methods, such as UPGMA-tree, PCA, PLS-DA and STRUCTURE, were employed for the categorization of the Pst populations conferring to their races and topographical localities. All methods were found significant and mostly had co-linear relations with each other. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) conferred total variation was 9.09%, and 86.20% of variation was within the populations. The current study also exposed a comparatively high genetic multiplicity within the population, while low genetic inconsistency among the populations. Furthermore, the molecular records on the gene pole (Nm = 18.45) established that the migration of the stripe rust pathogen occurred among all locations in Yunnan province. The ancestral haplotype was detected in Yuxi. Based on the trajectories of upper airflow and genetic diversity of Pst populations in different locations, it is suggested that the locations Dehong, Dali, Lincang and Baoshan are probably a major source of Pst in Yunnan.

Morphometric variation of Cork fish (Channa striata Bloch, 1793) from nine populations in Sumatra Island, Indonesia

The geographic isolation and specific character of local habitat could cause variation of morphological characteristics among Cork fish population in different locations. The plasticity of cork fish to adapt to the environment factors possibly has an impact on the different of specific morphological on fish population at different habitat. This study was conducted to investigate the traditional morphometric measurement and truss network differentiation of cork fish populations in different locations at Sumatra Island. Total of 394 cork fish specimens (consisting of 198 males and 196 females) were collected from nine different areas of rivers, swamp and lakes. The samples were analysed based on 14 morphometric (M) and 21 Truss Network Measurement (TNM) characters to find out the significant correlation of the fish on each area sampling. The transformed datasets were proceeded to multivariate testing using Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) and Cluster Analysis (CA). The results showed that cork fish had 20 distinguishing predominant characters in the head and back of the body. Based on cluster analysis, those fishes were divided into 4 groups depending on geographical isolation except one floodplain population that differs from the other population groups. We revealed that phenotypic dimorphism for female cork fish had a dominant size compared to males in head region and tail fin region. Cork fish in the lake had a dominant body height size compared to rivers and flooded swamps.

Phylogeography of Swertia perennis in Europe based on cpDNA markers.

BackgroundSwertia perennis(Gentianaceae) is a perennial diploid and clonal plant species that is discontinuously distributed in peat bogs in the mountains of Europe, Asia and North America as well as in the lowlands of Europe. The current geographical dispersion of S. perennis is probably the result of quaternary climatic changes that have played an important role in determining the distribution of Swertia and other plant and animal species.MethodsIn this study we used molecular techniques and combined data from chloroplast DNA markers (trnLF region and trnH-psbA spacer) to elucidate the phylogeography of S. perennis in Europe. Plants were collected from 28 populations in different locations in the lowlands and mountainous areas of Europe (e.g., the Carpathians, Sudetes, Bohemian Forest and Alps). cDNA was analysed to detect the genetic relationship between specimens from different locations.ResultsA total of 20 haplotypes were identified across the dataset. They were characterised by a high level of genetic variability but showed a lack of phylogeographical structure. This pattern may be the result of repeated recolonization and expansion from several areas. Such genetic differentiation may also be attributed to the relatively long-term isolation of S. perennis in Pleistocene refugia in Europe, which resulted in independent separation of different cpDNA phylogenetic lineages and variation in the nucleotide composition of cpDNA.DiscussionThe lack of strong phylogeographical structure makes it impossible to indicate the centre of haplotype diversity; however, refugia located in the Carpathians, Sudetes or Alps are the most probable sites where S. perennis existed in Europe. This lack of structure may also indicate a high level of gene flow in times when the landscape and fen systems were not fragmented in numerous geographically-isolated populations. This makes it difficult to speculate about the relationships between Asiatic and European plant populations and the origin and distribution of this species in Europe. Today, it seems to be restricted due to the occurrence of plants which clearly reflects the genetic variability from the ancient period.

Feature Constrained Multi-Task Learning Models for Spatiotemporal Event Forecasting

Spatial event forecasting from social media is potentially extremely useful but suffers from critical challenges, such as the dynamic patterns of features (keywords) and geographic heterogeneity (e.g., spatial correlations, imbalanced samples, and different populations in different locations). Most existing approaches (e.g., LASSO regression, dynamic query expansion, and burst detection) address some, but not all, of these challenges. Here, we propose a novel multi-task learning framework that aims to concurrently address all the challenges involved. Specifically, given a collection of locations (e.g., cities), forecasting models are built for all the locations simultaneously by extracting and utilizing appropriate shared information that effectively increases the sample size for each location, thus improving the forecasting performance. The new model combines both static features derived from a predefined vocabulary by domain experts and dynamic features generated from dynamic query expansion in a multi-task feature learning framework. Different strategies to balance homogeneity and diversity between static and dynamic terms are also investigated. And, efficient algorithms based on Iterative Group Hard Thresholding are developed to achieve efficient and effective model training and prediction. Extensive experimental evaluations on Twitter data from civil unrest and influenza outbreak datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed approach.

Examining two sets of introgression lines reveals background-independent and stably expressed QTL that improve grain appearance quality in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Key messageA novel QTL cluster for appearance quality on Chr07 was identified using reciprocal introgression populations in different locations in China. Two secondary F2populations validated QTL with significant effect on appearance quality.Appearance quality (AQ) is the main determinants of market value of rice. Identification of QTL affecting AQ is the prerequisite for efficient improvement of AQ through marker-assisted selection (MAS). Two sets of reciprocal introgression lines derived from indica Minghui 63 and japonica 02428 were used to dissect the stability of QTL affecting five AQ traits, including grain length, grain width, length to width ratio, percentage of grains with chalkiness, and degree of endosperm chalkiness using 4568 bin genotype produced from 58,000 SNPs across five different environments. A total of 41 and 30 main-effect QTL were identified in MH63 and 02428 backgrounds, respectively. Among them, 9 background-independent QTL (BI-QTL) were found. There were also 13 and 10 stable-expressed QTL (SE-QTL) across at least two environments in MH63 and 02428 backgrounds, respectively. Two important BI- and SE-QTL regions (BISERs) including BISER-I harboring qPGWC5, qDEC5, qGW5.1, and qLWR5 on chromosome 5 and BISER-II harboring qGL7, qLWR7, qPGWC7, and qDEC7 on chromosome 7 were identified. The BISER-II was newly reported and validated by two secondary F2 populations in the reciprocal backgrounds. Among 59 epistatic QTL (E-QTL) detected in this study, there were only four SE- but no BI-E-QTL detected in different environments, indicating that genetic background has stronger effect on AQ traits than the environmental factors, especially for percentage of grains with chalkiness (PGWC) and degree of endosperm chalkiness (DEC) with lower heritability. BISER-I and BISER-II harboring many BI- and SE-QTL with favorable alleles from slender grain rice are much important for improvement of rice AQ by MAS.

四个可持续发展实验区绿地系统可达性比较研究

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 四个可持续发展实验区绿地系统可达性比较研究 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201602120271 作者: 作者单位: 中国科学院生态环境研究中心 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家"十二五"科技支撑计划项目（2013BAJ04B03）；城市与区域生态国家重点实验室自主项目（SKLURE2013-1-05） A comparative study of green system accessibility in four sustainable development experimental zones Author: Affiliation: Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy Sciences Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:我国可持续发展实验区所在城市均十分重视绿地系统对其可持续发展的重要支撑作用。布局合理的城市绿地系统不但能提高城市生态空间容量，也能充分满足不同位置城市居民的需求，这使得城市绿地与其被服务对象——城市居民之间的可达性成为评价城市绿地系统服务价值的重要指标。以高德公司生产的电子导航地图中居民区点和绿地系统数据为基础，采用GIS缓冲区分析法，分别探讨了我国4个有代表性的国家可持续发展实验区西城区、石景山区、绍兴市和日照市这4个城市的城市绿地系统斑块特征，以及 < 5， 5-15， 15-30min时间距离内所覆盖城市居民点数量，对其绿地可达性及其服务能力进行比较分析和研究。研究结果表明：4个可持续发展实验区内的绿地系统分布均比较合理，覆盖面广，尤其是30min时间距离内可达的绿地满足了95%的住区；80%以上的住区居民可以在15min内到达周边任意绿地，为城市绿地管理部门打造"一刻钟生活圈"提供了良好的基础。但同时也发现，提供服务的绿地斑块面积比较细碎，大型绿地的配置率相对较低；而且多数绿地斑块从属于多个时间距离半径内，承受较大人口压力。最后，建议城市规划过程中，注重绿地系统与住区从时间尺度上的协调分析。此外，尝试性地采用日常生活中普遍使用的电子导航地图开展城市绿地系统可达性分析，研究结果与城市居民的生产生活密切相关，对城市绿地系统规划具有实际指导意义。 Abstract:Cities located in sustainable development experimental districts value the vital supporting role played by their corresponding green space systems. A rational layout of an urban green space system can increase the urban ecological space capacity and meet the various demands of populations in different locations. Citizens are an important indicator for evaluating the success of an urban green space system. This study used residential points and green space systems in electronic navigation maps produced by and the GIS buffer analysis method to analyze the patch characteristics of urban green space systems in the four representative national sustainable development experimental districts. These were-Xicheng district, Shijingshan district, Shaoxing City, and Rizhao City. In addition, a comparative analysis of the amount of people within different time distances from green spaces (< 5 min, 5-15 min, and 15-30 min) in urban residential districts was used to assess green space accessibility and service ability. The results showed that the distributions of the green space systems in the four sustainable development experimental districts were reasonable and that they were widely accessible, especially with regards to people who lived within 30 min of green space, which covered 95% of the local residents. More than 80% of the residents could reach any nearby green space within 15 min, which provided a good foundation on which the urban green space management department could build "a quarter of an hour life circle." However, at the same time, we found that the green spaces providing services were dispersed and small and that large green space areas were limited. Most of the green areas within the different time/distance radii were subject to higher population pressures. The results from this investigation suggest that urban planning processes should consider the time/distance factor for residents when planning a green space system. In addition, this study used electronic navigation maps, which are widely available, to analyze urban green space system accessibility. The results of this study are relevant to areas where urban residents were living and working, which will have practical significance when planning an urban green space system. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Essential oil variation in Iranian Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague) populations collected from different geographical regions in relation to climatic factors

Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) is an industrial medicinal plant with different food and pharmaceutical applications. Essential oil yield and composition of 24 ajowan populations in different locations of Iran was investigated. The essential oil content of populations ranged from 1.68% in Yazshah to 5.55% in Yazd. According to GC–MS analysis, thymol (48.84–61.44%), γ-terpinene (26.96–19.46%) and p-cymene (15.09–20.32%) were the major components. According to hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses, two chemotypes were determined for Iranian ajowan populations, including high thymol, and high γ-terpinene and p-cymene groups. The highest correlation coefficient was between β-pinene and α-pinene (+0.709), while the highest negative correlation was between γ-terpinene and thymol (−0.896). In the present study, the climatic and soil orders of studied populations were determined. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was also applied to assess the impact of geographic variation and environmental conditions on chemical variability of ajowan. Finally, it can be suggested that high essential oil and thymol content (phenolic chemotype) can be obtained in poor, undeveloped, relatively stony and shallow soil orders in arid and semi-arid conditions, while none phenolic ones needs higher humidity and soil depth that the first group.

Development of intron polymorphism markers in major latex-like protein gene for locality-level and cultivar identification of Salvia miltiorrhiza.

Background Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) is one of the most widely used medicinal herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. Locality-level and cultivar identification is of great importance not only for protecting highest therapeutic effectiveness of Daodi Danshen, but also for the genetic conservation and utilization of existing S. miltiorrhiza populations.ResultsIntron polymorphisms including SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and indels were exploited in major latex-like protein (MLP) gene. Based on these markers, genetic relationships among S. miltiorrhiza cultivar and populations in different locations were evaluated by constructing a dendrogram. Moreover, S. miltiorrhiza specimens from Laiwu region were geographically distinguishable by the developed SNP marker. A 204 bp-indel marker was exploited for the first space breeding cultivar Luyuan Danshen-1 (LD-1), and an effective real-time PCR assay was successfully developed for fast screening of LD-1 among local landraces.Conclusions MLP intron is a valuable DNA barcode for intra-specific study of S. miltiorrhiza populations, and the developed markers can serve as a useful tool for molecular identification of LD-1 cultivar and geographically distinct populations of S. miltiorrhiza.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40064-016-3611-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values in freshwater, brackish and marine fish bone collagen from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in central and northern Europe

The aim of this research is to examine the isotopic characterisation of archaeological fish species as it relates to freshwater, brackish and marine environments, trophic level and migration patterns, and to determine intraspecies variation within and between fish populations in different locations within central and northern Europe. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was undertaken on collagen extracted from 72 fish bone samples from eight Mesolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites in this region. Thirty-six (50%) of the specimens analysed produced results with acceptable carbon to nitrogen atomic ratios (2·9–3·6). The fish remains encompassed a wide spectrum of freshwater, brackish and marine taxa (n = 12), which were reflected in the δ13C values (−24·5 to −7·8‰). The freshwater/brackish fish (pike, Esox lucius; perch, Perca fluviatilis; zander, Sander lucioperca) had δ13C values that ranged from −24·2 to −19·3‰, whereas the brackish/marine fish (spurdog, Squalus acanthias; flatfish, Pleuronectidae; codfish, Gadidae; garfish, Belone belone; mackerel, Scomber scombrus) ranged from −14·9 to −9·4‰. Salmonidae, an anadromous taxon, and eel (Anguilla anguilla), a catadromous species, had carbon isotope values consistent with marine origin, and no evidence of freshwater residency (−12·7 to −11·7‰). The δ15N values had a range of 6·2‰ (6·5–12·7‰) indicating that these fish were on average feeding at 1·7 trophic levels higher than their producers in these diverse aquatic environments. These results serve as an important ecological baseline for the future isotopic reconstruction of the diet of human populations dating to the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic of the region.

Determination of Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Sudanese Guinea Fowl (Numida Meleagris) in Different Locations

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the performance of guinea fowl raised under extensive management system in Sudan. A total of 157 adult birds (89 males and 68 females) were randomly obtained from farmers in five different geographical locations. Parameters measured were Body weight, carcass characteristics and visceral organs. Statistical software, SPSS (version 21.0) was applied to verify significant differences among treatment means. Results showed significant differences in live body weight, hot carcass and carcass component weights among populations in different locations (P< 0.05) with mean body weight ranging from 1296.10 g. in Kordofan to 1000.09 g. in Dinder area, while the corresponding mean hot carcass weight ranged between 955.47 and 728.97 g. However there was no significant sex effect on the traits measured (P

Genetic Admixture and Flavor Preferences: Androstenone Sensitivity in Malagasy Populations.

The genetic basis of androstenone anosmia has been well studied due to androstenone's putative role as a human sex pheromone and its presence in pork meat. Polymorphisms have been identified on the olfactory receptor gene OR7D4, which significantly affect perception of androstenone pleasantness and intensity in several Western populations. This study aims to investigate androstenone sensitivity and the influence of OR7D4 polymorphisms in non-Western populations. Androstenone perception was tested in 132 individuals from Madagascar using a double three-alternative choice test with two concentrations of androstenone (0.17 and 1.7 µg/ml). We found that Malagasy populations described this molecule in a similar way to European populations, and 21% of the sample was not able to smell androstenone. In contrast to previous studies, there was no significant evidence of the influence of rs61729907: C>T (R88W) and rs5020278: C>T polymorphisms (T133M) on androstenone sensitivity in Malagasy populations. We found, however, a significant effect of the polymorphism rs61732668 (P79L) and a significant difference in androstenone perception between populations in different locations across Madagascar. This study indicates the existence of population-specific factors in androstenone sensitivity, suggesting that population history has a role in shaping an individual's smell and flavor preferences and food preferences in general.

Validation of 'variable number of tandem repeat'-based approach for examination of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' diversity and its applications for the analysis of the pathogen populations in the areas of recent introduction.

Citrus greening (Huanglongbing, HLB) is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus worldwide. In South Asia HLB has been known for more than a century, while in Americas the disease was found relatively recently. HLB is associated with three species of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ among which ‘Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) has most wide distribution. Recently, a number of studies identified different regions in the CLas genome with variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) that could be used for examination of CLas diversity. One of the objectives of the work presented here was to further validate the VNTR analysis-based approach by assessing the stability of these repeats upon multiplication of the pathogen in a host over an extended period of time and upon its passaging from a host to a host using CLas populations from Florida. Our results showed that the numbers of tandem repeats in the four loci tested display very distinguishable “signature profiles” for the two Florida-type CLas haplotype groups. Remarkably, the profiles do not change upon passage of the pathogen in citrus and psyllid hosts as well as after its presence within a host over a period of five years, suggesting that VNTR analysis-based approach represents a valid methodology for examination of the pathogen populations in various geographical regions. Interestingly, an extended analysis of CLas populations in different locations throughout Florida and in several countries in the Caribbean and Central America regions and in Mexico where the pathogen has been introduced recently demonstrated the dispersion of the same haplotypes of CLas. On the other hand, these CLas populations appeared to differ significantly from those obtained from locations where the disease has been present for a much longer time.

Sand fly (Diptera: Psychodidae) distribution in the endemic and non-endemic foci of visceral leishmaniasis in northwestern Iran

An entomological study was conducted from June to September, 2010 in rural regions of Azarbayjan-e-sharqi, Azarbayjan-e-qarbi, and Ardabil provinces in northwestern Iran to determine sand fly fauna, diversity, and distribution in different habitats and altitudes using both sticky papers and light traps. Geographical distribution of sand flies and the similarity of populations in different locations were analyzed ecologically based on the Shannon-Wiener Index and Jacard Coefficient, respectively. A total of 3,982 specimens was collected and sixteen species recorded. They belonged to the genera Phlebotomus [subgenus Phlebotomus (P. papatasi), Paraphlebotomus (P. sergenti, P. mongolensis, P. caucasicus, P. jacusieli), Larroussius (P. major s.l., P. tobbi, P. perfiliewi transcaucasicus, P. kandelakii) and Adlerius (P. halepensis, P. brevis, P. longiductus, P. balcanicus)], and Sergentomyia [subgenus Sergentomyia (S. sintoni, S. dentata and S. theodori)]. P. papatasi was the predominant species in all the locations except Bileh Savar, Macu, and Meshkin Shahr, followed by P. perfiliewi transcaucasicus and P. kandelakii. The latter species were caught from different habitats and altitudes with higher frequency than other species of the subgenus Larroussius. The lowest abundance belonged to P. jacusieli. The predominant species of subgenus Adlerius was P. halepensis. Data analysis showed that Meshkin Shahr and Bileh Savar had high and low diversities of sand fly distribution, respectively. Meshkin Shahr and Sarab districts had the highest similarity. Both are located in the foothills of Sabalan Mountain, with high diversity and richness.

A multicentre, cross-sectional study on quality of life in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus

A study at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Medical Center demonstrated that quality of life in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is negatively impacted. Whether patients with CLE in other geographic locations have similar quality of life is unknown. We sought to compare quality of life indicators between patients with CLE at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center at Dallas and those at UPenn. Patients with CLE (total n=248) at UTSW (n=91) and UPenn (n=157) completed the Skindex-29 +3 and Short Form-36 (SF-36) surveys related to quality of life. Additional information, including demographics, presence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and disease severity, was collected from UTSW patients with CLE. Most Skindex-29 + 3 and SF-36 subdomain scores between UTSW and UPenn patients with CLE were similar. However, UTSW patients with CLE were significantly more affected in the functioning and lupus-specific Skindex-29 + 3 domains, and physical functioning, role-physical and general health SF-36 subscales than UPenn patients with CLE (P<0·05). Factors related to poor quality of life in UTSW patients with CLE include sex, income, education, presence of SLE, and skin disease activity. Most quality of life indicators were similar between the two CLE populations. Differences in psychosocial behaviour, and a larger proportion of patients with SLE and females in the UTSW group likely attributed to differences in a minority of Skindex-29+3 and SF-36 subdomains. Capturing data from CLE populations in different locations provides a more thorough picture of the quality of life that patients with CLE experience on a daily basis with special attention to quality of life issues in select patients with CLE.

A model-free test for independence between time series

The problem of assessing the independence of time series arises in many situations, including evaluating the spatial synchrony of populations in different locations over time. Tests for independence generally have relied on assuming a particular dynamic model for each of the series, and those that do not, require long series. We adapt a test for association between spatial processes to provide a model-free (MF) test for independence between two time series under the assumption that each series is stationary and normally distributed. We evaluate the performance of the test through simulations and compare it with the naive (N) test, which ignores serial correlations, as well as with tests based on residuals from fitting specific dynamic models. We also consider additional tests that involve bootstrapping the MF and N tests. We find that the MF test generally preserves the desired test size, although this is not the case in some extreme settings. The MF test is clearly superior to residual-based tests that arise from fitting an incorrect model. The bootstrap tests are not as robust as the general MF test, but when they are valid, they seem to be more powerful. We also examine the robustness of the procedure to the additional measurement errors present in many applications, explore the extent to which some deficiencies in the MF test are due to estimation of the unknown covariances, and investigate the effect of nonnormality on the MF test. We illustrate the MF test’s performance through an example assessing mouse populations from different locations.

No more lake balls (Aegagropila linnaei Kützing, Cladophorophyceae, Chlorophyta) in The Netherlands?

Aegagropila linnaei, a freshwater green macroalga, had been abundant in several locations in The Netherlands before the 1960s. Both the ‘lake ball’ form of this alga and dense unattached mats floating over the sediment have been described from these locations. After 1967, this species has not been recorded anymore from The Netherlands. In 2007, several historical collection sites were surveyed for extant populations of A. linnaei. All habitats have changed drastically during the last 50 years and were affected severely by eutrophication. Populations of A. linnaei seem to have become extinct in all but one location (Boven Wijde, province Overijssel), where we found very small amounts of attached filaments. The attached form had not been reported previously from The Netherlands. Environmental conditions do not seem suitable anymore to maintain extensive unattached growth forms including the enigmatic lake balls, and the species must be regarded as threatened in The Netherlands and we propose to include A. linnaei in a national red list. The decline of populations elsewhere is reviewed and discussed in this paper. In addition to morphological identification of the attached filaments, partial sequences of the nuclear large subunit rDNA were generated and compared with different growth forms and habitats from several other locations outside The Netherlands. The sequences confirm the identity of the Dutch material and indicate very little divergence both between populations in different locations and between different growth forms.

Variability of phenolic compounds in flowers of Achillea millefolium wild populations in Lithuania

Achillea millefolium L. sensu lato (yarrow) is the best-known species of the genus Achillea due to numerous medicinal applications both in folk and conventional medicine. Phenolic compounds such as flavonoids and phenol carbonic acids are present in yarrow and constitute one of the most important groups of pharmacologically active substances. In the present study, yarrow flowers gathered from native populations in different locations of Lithuania were analyzed for phenolic compound composition. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for chemical analyses. Eight phenolic compounds--chlorogenic acid and flavonoids, namely vicenin-2, luteolin-3',7-di-O-glucoside, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, rutin, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, luteolin, and apigenin--were identified in the extracts from yarrow flowers. Considerable variation in accumulation of phenolic compounds among the flowers from different locations was observed. The samples were divided into two main groups based on chemical composition: the first group was characterized by lower than the mean total amount of the identified phenolics; the second was formed from samples accumulating higher concentrations of investigated secondary metabolites. The total amount of the identified phenolics in yarrow flowers from different populations varied from 13.290 to 27.947 mg/g.

Stable isotopes identify dispersal patterns of stonefly populations living along stream corridors

Summary1. Populations in different locations can exchange individuals depending on the distribution and connectivity of suitable habitat, and the dispersal capabilities and behaviour of the organisms. We used an isotopic tracer,15N, to label stoneflies (Leuctra ferruginea) to determine the extent of adult flight along stream corridors and between streams where their larvae live.2. In four mass, mark‐capture experiments we added15NH4Cl continuously for several weeks to label specific regions of streams within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, U.S.A. We collected adult stoneflies along the labelled streams (up to 1.5 km of stream length), on transects through the forest away from labelled sections (up to 500 m), and along an 800‐m reach of adjacent tributary that flows into a labelled stream.3. Of 966 individual adult stoneflies collected and analysed for15N, 20% were labelled. Most labelled stoneflies were captured along stream corridors and had flown upstream a mean distance of 211 m; the net movement of the population (upstream + downstream) estimated from the midpoint of the labelled sections was 126 m upstream. The furthest male and female travelled approximately 730 m and approximately 663 m upstream, respectively. We also captured labelled mature females along an unlabelled tributary and along a forest transect 500 m from the labelled stream, thus demonstrating cross‐watershed dispersal.4. We conclude that the adjacent forest was not a barrier to dispersal between catchments, and adult dispersal linked stonefly populations among streams across a landscape within one generation. Our data on the extent of adult dispersal provide a basis for a conceptual model identifying the boundaries of these populations, whose larvae are restricted to stream channels, and whose females must return to streams to oviposit.