A vegetation analysis of the pastoral landscapes of upland Wales,UK

Abstract. The upland moorlands of Wales are situated on the oceanic fringe of western Europe, and have experienced a long history of pastoral management. Recent vegetation data are analysed to assess the relative contribution of abiotic and anthropogenic factors to variation in habitat composition among the major upland ranges of this region. From a numerical analysis of plant community cover data, recorded from 65 sites covering 260 000 ha, a six‐cluster site classification emerged with striking biogeographical coherence. Direct gradient analysis and variance partitioning revealed strong correlation between vegetation composition and spatially‐structured climatic gradients, in particular temperature, rainfall and oceanicity; differences in bedrock geology appear to have a lesser role. The analysis also indicates a close correlation between habitat variation and anthropogenic parameters, especially grazing intensity, burning frequency, and sulphur and nitrogen deposition levels. At this regional scale, anthropogenic impacts appear to have accentuated, rather than obscured, vegetation patterns which are primarily determined by climate and other abiotic variables. The findings have considerable relevance for conservation planning and also for predictive studies on the consequences of climatic change for the biota of the uplands of southern Britain.     

Microencapsulation methods for delivery of protein drugs

Recent advances in recombinant DNA technology have resulted in development of many new protein drugs. Due to the unique properties of protein drugs, they have to be delivered by parenteral injection. Although delivery of protein drugs by other routes, such as pulmonary and nasal routes, has shown some promises, to date most protein drugs are administered by parenteral routs. For long-term delivery of protein drugs by parenteral administration, they have been developed, and the currently used microencapsulation methods are reviewed here. The microencapsulation methods have been divided based on the method used. They are: solvent evaporation/extraction; phase separation (coacervation); spray drying; ionotropic gelation/polyelectrolyte complexation; interfacial polymerization; and supercritical fluid precipitation. Each method is described for its applications, advantages, and limitations.     

Maximum entropy modeling of short sequence motifs with applications to RNA splicing signals.

We propose a framework for modeling sequence motifs based on the maximum entropy principle (MEP). We recommend approximating short sequence motif distributions with the maximum entropy distribution (MED) consistent with low-order marginal constraints estimated from available data, which may include dependencies between nonadjacent as well as adjacent positions. Many maximum entropy models (MEMs) are specified by simply changing the set of constraints. Such models can be utilized to discriminate between signals and decoys. Classification performance using different MEMs gives insight into the relative importance of dependencies between different positions. We apply our framework to large datasets of RNA splicing signals. Our best models out-perform previous probabilistic models in the discrimination of human 5' (donor) and 3' (acceptor) splice sites from decoys. Finally, we discuss mechanistically motivated ways of comparing models.     

Genome Sequence of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli EC302/04, Isolated from a Human Tracheal Aspirate

Escherichia coli is an important etiologic agent of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). Multidrug-resistant E. coli EC302/04 was isolated from a tracheal aspirate, and its genome sequence is expected to provide insights into antimicrobial resistance as well as adaptive and virulence mechanisms of E. coli involved in LRTI.