Patterns of gastrointestinal bacterial exchange between chimpanzees and humans involved in research and tourism in western Uganda

Ecological overlap may increase the risks of microbial exchange between humans and wild non-human primates. Escherichia coli bacteria were collected from chimpanzees and humans in Kibale National Park, western Uganda, in May and June 2004, in order to examine whether interaction between humans and apes in the wild might affect gastrointestinal bacterial communities in the two species. Chimpanzees harbored bacteria genetically more similar to those of humans employed in chimpanzee-directed research and tourism than to those of humans from a local village. Most humans (81.6%) and 4.4% of chimpanzees harbored at least one isolate resistant to locally available antibiotics. In isolates from both humans and chimpanzees, resistance was higher to five of these antibiotics than to Ceftiofur, an antibiotic not available in the region. These data indicate that humans and apes interacting in the wild can share genetically and phenotypically similar gastrointestinal bacteria, presumably originating from common environmental sources. Strategies to limit transmission of pathogens between humans and primates, whether that transmission is direct or indirect, would benefit both human health and primate conservation.     

Impacts of sediment loads, tadpole density, and food type on the growth and development of tadpoles of the spotted tree frog Litoria spenceri: an in-stream experiment

The impact of increased-deposited sediment loads on growth and development of tadpoles of the spotted tree frog, Litoria spenceri, in south-eastern Australia was assessed in conjunction with food type and tadpole density. This investigation was conducted in stream enclosures subjected to varying treatments of tadpole density, substrata and deposited-sediment load. Tadpole growth and development were not significantly affected by food type, but there was a trend toward increased performance on periphyton substrata. Tadpole growth and development were significantly reduced by increases in tadpole density and sediment load. These effects were independent, suggesting that increased sediment load reduced food quality rather than quantity. Activities in catchments that increase sediment loads in streams may adversely affect growth and development of tadpoles of L. spenceri. Increased sediment input into streams may therefore reduce tadpole fitness and recruitment to the terrestrial stage. Disturbance processes that increase stream sediment loads, such as forestry activities and associated road construction, may potentially have contributed to the observed declines of L. spenceri and other lotic anurans in south-eastern Australia.     

Laboratory simulation of evaporation of water droplets on artificial soybean leaves

The evaporation from water droplets on artificial soybean leaves was modelled using an energy balance. Observations showed that while droplets were hemispherical initially, they then flattened keeping the base area virtually constant. These observations led to modelling the process as evaporation from a vertical right-circular cylinder which gave excellent agreement with indoor data.     

Usefulness of a commercially available enzyme immunoassay for Shiga-like toxins I and II as a presumptive test for the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle feces.

The performance of a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for determining the presence of Shiga toxin I and II in human diarrheal stool samples was evaluated for use as a presumptive test for the presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in nondiarrheal bovine fecal samples collected from 10 Kansas cow-calf ranches. The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in 2,297 samples, as determined by selective bacterial culture, was 1.6%. The sample prevalence of non-E. coli O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing bacteria, as detected by the Shiga toxin EIA, was 5.8%. Only 2 of 136 samples that tested positive with the Shiga toxin EIA were positive for E. coli O157:H7 by culture. Compared with bacterial culture, the sensitivity of the Shiga toxin EIA was 5.5% and the specificity was 94.1%. Agreement between the 2 tests, as measured by the kappa statistic, was poor (kappa = -0.002). Although the Shiga toxin EIA was not a good presumptive test for the determination of E. coli O157:H7 in bovine fecal samples because of its low sensitivity (5.5%), it might be a useful test for the detection of Shiga toxin producing non-E. coli O157:H7 organisms in bovine feces.     

Chronology of guitarrero cave, peru

Dating by accelerator mass spectrometry of wooden artifacts, cord, and charcoal samples from Guitarrero Cave, Peru, supports the antiquity of South America's earliest textiles and other perishable remains. The new dates are consistent with those obtained from disintegration counters and leave little doubt about the integrity of the lower Preceramic layers and their early cultivars. Re-evaluation of the mode of deposition suggests that most of the remains resulted from short-term use of the cave in the eighth millennium B.C., with a possible brief human visit as early as 12,560 years ago.     

The Morphogenesis of Bands and Zonal Winds in the Atmospheres on the Giant Outer Planets

The atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were modeled as shallow layers of turbulent fluid overlying a smooth, spherical interior. With only the observed values of radius, rotation rate, average wind velocity, and mean layer thickness as model parameters, bands and jets spontaneously emerged from random initial conditions. The number, width, and amplitude of the jets, as well as the dominance of anticyclonic vortices, are in good agreement with observations for all four planets.     

Occupancy principle for radioactive tracers in steady-state biological systems

Bergner's theoretical analysis of tracer dynamics has important ap plications in biology, not only for the measurement of exchangeable mass (as he demonstrated) but also for elicitation of otherwise inaccessible information on total masses of particular elements in body organs or systems-as well as in Chemical engineering and geophysics.     

Harbour porpoises exhibit localized evasion of a tidal turbine

1. Tidal energy generators have the potential to injure or kill marine animals, including small cetaceans, through collisions with moving turbine parts. Information on the fine scale behaviour of animals close to operational turbines is required to inform regulators of the likely impact of these new technologies.
2. Harbour porpoise movements were monitored in three dimensions around a tidal turbine for 451 days between October 2017 and April 2019 with a 12-channel hydrophone array.
3. Echolocation clicks from 344 porpoise events were localized close to the turbine. The data show that porpoises effectively avoid the turbine rotors, with only a single animal clearly passing through the rotor swept area while the rotors were stationary, and none passing through while rotating.
4. The results indicate that the risk of collisions between the tidal turbine and porpoises is low; this has important implications for the potential effects and the sustainable development of the tidal energy industry.

     

昆虫病原真菌在当前和未来的温室生态系统中的作用

There are several biopesticides based on entomopathogenic fungi available in the market for use against insect pests in greenhouse ecosystems.Although most are compatible for use with predators and parasitoids in greenhouse ecosystems,much more research is needed to determine the intraguild interactions for each combination of host, pathogen, predator, and parasitoid.Our research has demonstrated that, although direct effects on the predators could be demonstrated in laboratory bioassays, different results were found under greenhouse conditions, indicating that results obtained in the laboratory may be a poor predictor of what occurs in the greenhouse.In both cases, additive effects were obtained under greenhouse conditions,demonstrating compatibility. In addition, there is increasing evidence that entomopathogenic fungi have significant potential for dual management of invertebrate pests and plant pathogens.Our studies demonstrated that 3 species of Lecanicillium had significant effects on both aphids and cucumber powdery mildew, Sphaerotheca fuliginea;that the fungus Paecilomyces fumosoroseus was compatible with a mirid predator,Disyphus hesperus,when used concurrently against greenhouse whitefly,Trialeurodes vaporariorum;and that Lecaniciullium longisporum was compatible with a predatory midge,Aphidoletes aphidimyza when used concurrently against green peach aphids.