Flood history and river flow variability recorded in tree rings on the Dhur River,Bhutan

During the 2018 WorldDendro fieldweek in Bhutan, we examined the flood history of the Dhur River. Most villages are located along streams, so knowing the flood history of the area will enable managers to prepare for future events. We collected scarred partial cross sections from 29 trees along a two km stretch of the Dhur River, and two cores per tree from 29 other trees from six species (Populus ciliata, Picea spinulosa, Tsuga dumosa, Quercus semecarpifolia, Pinus wallichiana, and Rhododendron arboreum). We identified large flood events in 2009, 1989, and 1967 from at least two trees with flood scars or traumatic rings. Our flood-scar chronology extends to 1940 with five cross-sectioned trees, and back to 1904 with core evidence from two trees. The oldest flood scar occurred in 1967. The 2009 flood scar was recorded in most of our streamside samples and is the result of heavy precipitation from Cyclone Aila at the end of May 2009. Two other storms and proceeding flood events occurred in 1989 and 1967 according to additional scars detected in several samples. This work demonstrates the successful use of density fluctuations in Pinus along with scarring in multiple species to reconstruct past flood events and identifies the effects of Cyclone Aila, as an extreme event for this area, which was unprecedented for the past hundred years.     

Skeletal age determination based on the os pubis: A comparison of the Acsádi-Nemeskéri and Suchey-Brooks methods

After reviewing various systems of age determination based on analysis of the pubic bone, the discussion concentrates on the collection and preparation of an extensive autopsy sample (n=1225) of pubic bones from modern individuals with legal documentation of age at death (death and/or birth certificates). TheSuchey-Brooks method derived from this sample is described. TheAcsádi-Nemeskéri system is evaluated in terms of the documented collection and it is seen that their five stage method focuses only on the early and late morphological changes. The intermediate stages, in which the ventral rampart is in process of completion, are not described. Their suggested age ranges do not correspond with the documented modern sample. Based on these limitations of theAcsádi-Nemeskéri method, applications of theSuchey-Brooks system are discussed.     

Are raccoons limited by the availability of breeding resources? Evidence of variability in fecundity at fine spatial scales

Despite their behavioral plasticity, recent research suggests raccoons (Procyon lotor) exhibit variability in demography and genetic structure among individual habitat patches in landscapes heavily affected by anthropogenic land use. Consequently, elucidation of vital rates at fine-spatial scales is needed to implement appropriate management strategies for this species. To evaluate the degree of variability in productivity that exists among individual habitat patches, we collected reproductive (n = 170) and cementum annuli age data (n = 383) for raccoons occupying 30 forest patches varying in local and landscape-level habitat attributes within a highly fragmented agricultural ecosystem. Across all females sampled, pregnancy rates averaged 85% but were highly variable among ages (range: 47–100%). Average litter sizes ranged from 3.2 to 4.7, but did not differ as a function of age. At the landscape-level, we observed significant variability among habitat patches in the total number of offspring produced (range: 0–80), indicating that individual patches vary in their contribution to the overall size and stability of the global (landscape-level) population. Variability in productivity among habitat patches primarily was driven by local differences in the availability of denning resources, likely because of the influence of this variable on variability in the number, age structure, and reproductive rate of females. Our results suggest that in agricultural ecosystems, the reproductive potential and temporal stability of raccoons within individual habitat fragments is inextricably linked to the density of tree cavities. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.     

Non-secretion of ABO blood group antigens: a host factor predisposing to recurrent urinary tract infections and renal scarring

Abstract In a study of 718 women referred for specialist investigation for recurrent urinary tract infections, 250 (34.8%, P <0.01) were non-secretors. The proportion of non-secretors among the women with renal scars (42.6%) was higher than that found for women with no evidence of renal scars (36.6%). Among 29 patients in whom symptoms began in childhood or adolescence, 51.7% were non-secretors. The proportion of non-secretors among individuals with renal scars in this study (42.6%) and that reported in the accompanying paper for Swedish children (40%) suggests that non-secretion might influence the pathogenic sequelae of these infections. Possible host-parasite interactions underlaying the increased proportion of non-secretors among women with recurrent urinary tract infections and those leading to development of renal scars are discussed.     

Age determination of the male os pubis

An extensive (n = 739) sample of well-documented male pubic bones was examined for age-related features. Using the traditional aging methods, Todd's system was found to over-age and both the Todd and the McKern-Stewart systems did not account for age variability seen in advanced pubic bone patterns. Based on a 5-year interobserver error study, certain categories in each system were collapsed because observers could not consistently differentiate between them by morphological pattern. The traditional and the modified versions were than analyzed using linear regression analysis. All approaches perform poorly when the entire sample is used. Truncation strategies to eliminate older individuals result in substantial improvement. The traditional Todd system and its modified form are found to be the best systems. When implementation is considered, a modified Todd six-phase system is recommended.     

四川地区大蹄蝠某些年龄特征的比较研究

对大蹄蝠的某些年龄特征进行了比较研究。根据左侧第 1上臼齿的磨损情况 ,将大蹄蝠划分为 7个年龄组。同时探讨了各年龄组中假乳头的分布 ,右侧假乳头发达者最多 ,占73 68% ,平均长度为 7 2 91 9± 2 330 2mm (N =1 4)。左侧发达者仅占 1 5 79% ,平均长度为 9± 1 0 0mm (N =3)。从皮叶与性别和年龄的关系可见 ,具皮叶者多数为雄性 (72 % ) ,但雌性亦有 2 1 1 %的个体有皮叶。结果还表明 ,皮叶的发达程度不与年龄的增加呈正相关关系。     

On the differences between two pelvises of Mousterian context from the Qafzeh and Kebara caves, Israel

Two pelvises from a similar archaeological context have been discovered in recent years in two different caves in Israel. The pelvis from the Qafzeh cave (Qafzeh 9) was dated by means of thermoluminescence at approximately 95 kyr BP. All available measurement values, the most significant being those of the diagnostic obturator region, fall within those of the modern range. The other pelvis emanates from the Kebara cave and differs fundamentally from modern pelvises and from the Qafzeh specimen, although the Kebara pelvis is 30,000 years younger than the latter. As in other remains of Neandertal pelvises, the superior pubic ramus of the Kebara hominid is extremely long and slender and exhibits a cross section unlike that of modern humans. The absolute height of the obturator region is very small. It is these measurements and proportions that set the Kebara pelvis apart from both modern pelvises and the specimen from Qafzeh. The morphological differences and the chronological relationship between the two fossil pelvises support the concept of two distinct evolutionary lineages for these hominids.     

Pubic symphysis age distributions

A further discussion of age assessment and palaeodemography requires detailed reviews of methods, especially pubic symphysis techniques. Before reanalysis of changes in symphyseal form, the initial steps in distributing ages must be examined. Use of the mean values for age scores gives age distributions that are not real, but subject to systematic distortions, and cumulative percentages of skeletal samples can be shown to reflect the mean ages. Distributing skeletal ages using 95% probability distributions provides a more accurate estimation of true ages for palaeodemography and a better basis for discussions of pubic symphysis aging techniques.