Management strategy influences landscape patterns of high-severity burn patches in the southwestern United States

Landscape Ecology - Spatial patterns of high-severity wildfire in forests affect vegetation recovery pathways, watershed dynamics, and wildlife habitat across landscapes. Yet, less is known about...     

The frictional behaviour of wood

Summary The work described was primarily concerned with determining the more important variables affecting friction between wood and steel, but friction between wood and non-ferrous materials including wood itself was also investigated briefly. Deviations from the classical laws of friction were of interest, the most significant being variation of friction coefficient with sliding speed. With an increase in sliding speed up to 4 m/sec the curves for highly polished steel showed undulations, but with unpolished surfaces there was a monotonic reduction, somewhat greater in wet wood than dry. Other important factors, interacting with sliding speed, were steel roughness and wood moisture content. Effects of load, nominal contact area and fibre direction were minor. The results appear to be adequately explained in terms of adhesion and lubrication.A world wide selection of species was tested, and it appears that the nature and amount of extractives in most woods is such that they have similar friction coefficients except on very smooth steel, and only a few greasy species, have significantly lower coefficients. For most air-dry wood in contact with unpolished steel, the coefficient decreases from a static value about 0.65 to a value about 0.4 at 4 m/sec. For wet wood, the corresponding values are about 0.7 and 0.15.Coefficients of friction between wood and wood were similar to those between wood and rough steel, and those between wood and other materials varied in a manner which may be related to strength of adhesion.

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Zusammenfassung Die ursprüngliche Zielsetzung der Arbeit, die Untersuchung der wesentlichen Einflußgrößen auf die Reibung zwischen Holz und Stahl wurde durch Einbeziehung von Nichteisen-Metallen und der Reibung zwischen Holz und Holz erwitert. Als bemerkenswert stellten sich die Abweichungen von den klassischen Reibungsgesetzen heraus, am auffallendsten die Änderung der Reibung mit der Vorschubgeschwindigkeit. Beim Anstieg der Vorschubgeschwindigkeit bis zu 4 m/s zeigten die Kurven für hochglanzpolierten Stahl Unstetigkeiten, während bei unpoliertem Stahl ein gleichförmiger Abfall eintrat, der bei nassem Holz etwas größer war als bei trockenem. Weitere wichtige Einflußgrößen waren Stahlart und Holzfeuchtigkeit. Die Wirkungen von Normaldruck, Kontaktfläche und Faserrichtung waren von untergeordneter Bedeutung. Die erzielten Ergebnisse lassen sich in etwa gleicher Weise durch Begriffe aus den Gebieten der Adhäsion oder der Schmierung beschreiben.Es wurde angestrebt, möglichst alle wichtigen Holzarten der Welt zu erfassen. Man kann sagen, daß die Inhaltsstoffe der meisten Hölzer nach Art und Menge zu ziemlich ähnlichen Reibungskoeffizienten führen, ausgenommen bei sehr glatten Stahlarten. Nur wenige fetthaltige Holzarten weisen deutlich niedrigere Reibungskoeffizienten auf. Für lufttrockenes Holz und unpolierten Stahl fällt der Koeffizient von 0,65 für Haftreibung auf 0,40 für gleitende Reibung bei 4 m/s Vorschubgeschwindigkeit. Bei nassem Holz lauten die entsprechenden Werte 0,70 und 0,15. Die Reibungskoeffizienten zwischen Holz und Holz waren ähnlich denen zwischen Holz und rauhem Stahl; diejenigen zwischen Holz und anderen Materialien variierten so, daß ein Zusammenhang mit den Adhäsionskräften anzunehmen ist.

     

Pharmacokinetics and safety of firocoxib after oral administration of repeated consecutive doses to neonatal foals

The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics and safety profile of firocoxib in neonatal foals. Seven healthy foals were administered 0.1 mg/kg firocoxib orally q24 h for nine consecutive days, commencing at 36 h of age. Blood was collected for firocoxib analysis using high‐pressure liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection at 0 (dose #1 only), 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 h after doses 1, 5, and 9. For all other doses (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8), blood was collected immediately prior to the next dose (24 h trough). Elimination samples (36, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 h) were collected after dose 9. Safety was assessed via physical examinations, body weight measurements, gastroscopy, complete blood count, plasma biochemistry and urinalysis. Firocoxib was rapidly absorbed following oral administration with minimal accumulation after repeat dosing. After the final dose, the terminal half‐life was approximately 11 h. Firocoxib was below the limit of detection (<2.5 ng/mL) in plasma 72 h after the final dose. No significant abnormalities were found on blood analyses, urinalysis, or gastroscopy. This study demonstrated that firocoxib is absorbed in neonatal foals with no demonstrable adverse effects after repeated doses of 0.1 mg/kg.     

Oxygen consumption and ventilatory reflex responses are influenced by dietary lipids in sturgeon

The effects of one year's feeding with diets enriched either in highly unsaturated fatty acids of the w3 series (w3 HUFA) (fish oil-supplemented diet, FOD) or in saturated fatty acids (SFA) (coconut oil-supplemented diet, COD) on fatty acid composition of tissue lipids, on patterns of resting oxygen consumption and on responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia were investigated in the Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii). FOD sturgeon had higher levels of w3 HUFA in liver and muscle lipids than COD fish, which had higher levels of SFA. A frequency distribution of instantaneous oxygen uptake rates (M]O2), as measured every 10 min for 8 h, revealed a different pattern of resting oxygen consumption between the two groups. The FOD sturgeon consumed oxygen in a narrow range of low rates, with a lower mean M]O2 than COD sturgeon, which showed a wide range of more elevated rates. FOD sturgeon had a lower opercular pressure amplitude than COD fish in normoxia. Exposure to three levels of hypoxia PO2s = 10.8±0.2; 6.6±0.2 and 4.6±0.2 kPa) or mild hypercapnia (PCO2 = 1.0±0.2 kPa) did not affect ventilation in FOD fish but elicited hyperventilation in COD animals. Mild hypoxia (PO2 = 10.8±0.2 kPa) and hypercapnia caused less reduction in blood oxygen content in FOD as compared with COD sturgeon. The effects of adding vitamin E supplements to the diets was investigated; groups fed vitamin E supplements had elevated M]O2 and hyperventilated in hypoxia. The data indicate that dietary fatty acid composition influences resting M]O2 in sturgeon and that this influences the regulation of ventilation and blood O2 levels in hypoxia and hypercapnia. The low resting M]O2 of fish fed w3 HUFA supplements (the FOD group) obviated the need for hyperventilation in hypoxia or hypercapnia, thereby making them less sensitive to these stresses than sturgeon fed SFA (COD group) or sturgeon fed either diet supplemented with vitamin E. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of changes in plasma pH,CO2 and ammonia on ventilation in trout

We investigated ventillatory responses to a plasma alkaloids and hypocapnia,a nd the basis for the ventilatory response to sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) infusion in rainbow trout. Plasma alkalosis and hypocapnia created by infusion of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) did not cause hypoventilation, whereas infusion of hydrochloric acid (HCl) caused vigorous hyperventilation, associated with an acidosis, a reduction in blood O₂ content (Ca_{O 2}) and a release of circulating catecholamines. Infusion of NaHCO₃ stimulated ventilation and caused an increase in plasma pH, total carbon dioxide content (Ca_{CO 2}) and catecholamine levels, and a reduction in oxygen tension (Pa_{O 2}). Infusion of ammonium bicarbonate (NH ₄HCO₃) caused hyperventilation and was associated with an increase in Ca_{CO 2} and plasma total ammonia (C_amm) and ammonia gas (NH₃) concentration. Infusion of sodium chloride (NaClI) and Cortland's saline had no effect on ventilation. The results indicate that trout do not exhibit the ventilatory sensitivity to pH seen in terrestrial vertebrates. Ventilatory responses to NaHCO₃ appear to have been a result of reductions in Pa_{O 2}, a release of catecholamines and an increase in Ca_{CO 2} whereas responses to NH₄HCO₃ appear to have been a result of increases in Ca_{CO 2} and C_amm.     

Tricyclic Guanidine Alkaloids from the Marine Sponge Acanthella cavernosa that Stabilize the Tumor Suppressor PDCD4

A cell-based high-throughput screen that assessed the cellular stability of a tumor suppressor protein PDCD4 (Programmed cell death 4) was used to identify a new guanidine-containing marine alkaloid mirabilin K (3), as well as the known compounds mirabilin G (1) and netamine M (2). The structures of these tricyclic guanidine alkaloids were established from extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibited cellular degradation of PDCD4 with EC₅₀ values of 1.8 μg/mL and 2.8 μg/mL, respectively. Mirabilin G (1) and netamine M (2) are the first marine natural products reported to stabilize PDCD4 under tumor promoting conditions.     

Risk factors influencing death prior to discharge in 302 dogs undergoing unilateral adrenalectomy for treatment of primary adrenal gland tumours

Adrenalectomies for canine adrenal tumours are associated with peri-operative morbidity and mortality. Objectives of this study included assessing the prognostic value of tumour- or surgery-related variables in predicting peri-operative mortality and overall survival in dogs undergoing adrenalectomies for primary adrenal tumours as well as pre-treatment with phenoxybenzamine on survival to discharge with pheochromocytomas specifically. A multi-institutional retrospective cohort study was performed across nine institutions. Electronic medical record searches identified 302 dogs which met the inclusion criteria. Data collected included dog-related, tumour-related, treatment-related, surgery-related, and outcome variables. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression and cox proportional hazards models were used to identify variables associated with death prior to discharge and tumour-related survival. Overall, 87% of dogs survived to discharge with a tumour-related survival time of 3.96 years. Post-operative complications were reported in 25%. Increased surgical time (p = 0.002) and pre-surgical medical treatment other than phenoxybenzamine (p = 0.024) were significantly associated with increased peri-operative mortality while ureteronephrectomy (p = 0.021), post-operative pancreatitis (p = 0.025), and post-operative aspiration pneumonia (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with decreased overall survival. Phenoxybenzamine pretreatment had no effect on peri-operative mortality. Thirty-seven of 45 (82%) dogs with pheochromocytomas not pretreated survived to discharge, and 50 of 59 (85%) dogs with pheochromocytomas pretreated with phenoxybenzamine survived to discharge (p = 0.730). This study provides information on risk factors for death prior to discharge and tumour-related survival that may help guide clinical management and owner expectations. In addition, the study findings challenge the previously reported benefit of phenoxybenzamine for pretreatment of dogs undergoing adrenalectomies for pheochromocytomas.     

Contextual influences on animal decision‐making: Significance for behavior‐based wildlife conservation and management

Survival and successful reproduction require animals to make critical decisions amidst a naturally dynamic environmental and social background (i.e. “context”). However, human activities have pervasively, and rapidly, extended contextual variation into evolutionarily novel territory, potentially rendering evolved animal decision‐making mechanisms and strategies maladaptive. We suggest that explicitly focusing on animal decision‐making (ADM), by integrating and applying findings from studies of sensory ecology, cognitive psychology, behavioral economics and eco‐evolutionary strategies, may enhance our understanding of, and our ability to predict how, human‐driven changes in the environment and population demography will influence animal populations. Fundamentally, the decisions animals make involve evolved mechanisms, and behaviors emerge from the combined action of sensory integration, cognitive mechanisms and strategic rules of thumb, and any of these processes may have a disproportionate influence on behavior. Although there is extensive literature exploring ADM, it generally reflects a canalized, discipline‐specific approach that lacks a unified conceptual framework. As a result, there has been limited application of ADM theory and research findings into predictive models that can enhance management outcomes, even though it is likely that the relative resilience of species to rapid environmental change is fundamentally a result of how ADM is linked to contextual variation. Here, we focus on how context influences ADM, and highlight ideas and results that may be most applicable to conservation biology.     

Selecting representative reserve systems in remote areas: A case study in the Nullarbor region, Australia

We present a procedure for the selection of a network of reserves representing the biological diversity of a large and biologically poorly known region. The quantitative analysis gives equal weighting to a wide array of different species: mobile and sessile, long-lived and ephemeral, heterothermic and homeothermic, etc.

Sampling was based on quadrats that were positioned through the region using a stratified random strategy. This provided a presence-absence matrix of the species composition at each quadrat. Numerical pattern analysis was used to identify 14 species assemblages and to re-order the sites and species in the data matrix. The geographic pattern of each assemblage throughout the region was described by contouring assemblage richness, the isolines being the proportion of the number of species in each assemblage. The data matrix was re-examined. Some assemblages exhibit several gradients in species composition. For example, a 0·1 isoline in the east may represent a different 10% of species than a 0·1 isoline in the west. Other assemblages exhibit only a single gradient in species composition.

The results were used to select the optimum positions of reserves needed to represent the compositional diversity of each of the 14 species assemblages.

Limited field checking confirmed the predicted isolines in assemblage compositional richness to a satisfactory extent.     

Nutritional and physiological responses of young growing rats to diets containing raw cowpea seed meal,protein isolate (globulins), or starch

The nutritional and physiological effects of raw cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.) seed meal, protein isolate (globulins), or starch on the metabolism of young growing rats have been evaluated in 14-day trials. Wet and dry weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, and lipid and protein accretion were significantly reduced as a result of inclusion of seed meal, globulins, or starch in the diet, with growth retardation being most marked with the seed meal. The proportional weights of the small intestine and pancreas were increased by meal diets, and serum cholesterol levels were slightly reduced. The globulins and raw starch also increased relative small intestine weights but had no effect on the pancreas or serum constituents. The effects of cowpeas on rats appeared to be due primarily to the combined actions of globulins, resistant starches, protease inhibitors, and possibly fiber and non-starch polysaccharides on intestinal and systemic metabolism.