Impacts of soil temperature,phenology and plant community composition on invertebrate herbivory in a natural warming experiment

Species and community-level responses to warming are well documented, with plants and invertebrates known to alter their range, phenology or composition as temperature increases. The effects of warming on biotic interactions are less clearly understood, but can have consequences that cascade through ecological networks. Here, we used a natural soil temperature gradient of 5–35°C in the Hengill geothermal valley, Iceland, to investigate the effects of temperature on plant community composition and plant–invertebrate interactions. We quantified the level of invertebrate herbivory on the plant community across the temperature gradient and the interactive effects of temperature, plant phenology (i.e. development stage) and vegetation community composition on the probability of herbivory for three ubiquitous plant species, Cardamine pratensis, Cerastium fontanum and Viola palustris. We found that the percentage cover of graminoids and forbs increased, while the amount of litter decreased, with increasing soil temperature. Invertebrate herbivory also increased with soil temperature at the plant community level, but this was underpinned by different effects of temperature on herbivory for individual plant species, mediated by the seasonal development of plants and the composition of the surrounding vegetation. This illustrates the importance of considering the development stage of organisms in climate change research given the variable effects of temperature on susceptibility to herbivory at different ontogenetic stages.     

Bone Remodelling of a Proximal Femur with the Thrust Plate Prosthesis: An In Vitro Case

The key to the development of a successful implant is an understanding of the effect of bone remodelling on its long-term fixation. In this study, clinically observed patterns of bone remodelling have been compared with computer-based predictions for one particular design of prosthesis, the Thrust Plate Prosthesis (Centerpulse Orthopedics, Winterthur, Switzerland). Three-dimensional finite-element models were created using geometrical and bone density data obtained from CT scanning. Results from the bone remodelling simulation indicated that varying the relative rate of bone deposition/resorption and the interfacial conditions between the bone and the implant could produce the trend towards the two clinically observed patterns of remodelling.     

Why Early Care and Education Deserves as Much Attention,or More,than Prekindergarten Alone

High-quality early care and education (ECE) programs promote positive child outcomes, allow parents to work, and contribute to the local economy. Although extant research takes into account the ECE sector in its entirety, recent economic and policy interest has centered on part-day prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds only. Using an ecological framework, we review and synthesize the research literature to examine whether the emphasis on pre-k is justified as economically superior to a comprehensive approach. We compare impacts on the macrosystem (regional economy), exosystem (parents), and microsystem (children's long-term human development) and argue that a holistic approach that includes comprehensive ECE services has economic returns as great as or greater than pre-k alone. Finally, we explore the conceptual barriers that have contributed to the narrow focus on pre-k and the policy implications of ignoring the broader ecological context.     

The Synthesis of Branched Oligonucleotides as Signal Amplification Multimers for Use in Nucleic Acid Assays

Abstract

Branched oligonucleotides have been synthesized using phosphoramidite derivatives with two protected hydroxyl functions. These molecules are employed for a label amplification strategy used in DNA probe diagnostics.     

Biogeography of the ecosystems of the healthy human body

Background

Characterizing the biogeography of the microbiome of healthy humans is essential for understanding microbial associated diseases. Previous studies mainly focused on a single body habitat from a limited set of subjects. Here, we analyzed one of the largest microbiome datasets to date and generated a biogeographical map that annotates the biodiversity, spatial relationships, and temporal stability of 22 habitats from 279 healthy humans.

Results

We identified 929 genera from more than 24 million 16S rRNA gene sequences of 22 habitats, and we provide a baseline of inter-subject variation for healthy adults. The oral habitat has the most stable microbiota with the highest alpha diversity, while the skin and vaginal microbiota are less stable and show lower alpha diversity. The level of biodiversity in one habitat is independent of the biodiversity of other habitats in the same individual. The abundances of a given genus at a body site in which it dominates do not correlate with the abundances at body sites where it is not dominant. Additionally, we observed the human microbiota exhibit both cosmopolitan and endemic features. Finally, comparing datasets of different projects revealed a project-based clustering pattern, emphasizing the significance of standardization of metagenomic studies.

Conclusions

The data presented here extend the definition of the human microbiome by providing a more complete and accurate picture of human microbiome biogeography, addressing questions best answered by a large dataset of subjects and body sites that are deeply sampled by sequencing.