Demography and evolution of an urban ethnic community: Polish Hill, Pittsburgh.

Polish Hill is an urban, ethnic enclave of approximately 3000 residents residing in a 25-block area of Pittsburgh. This paper documents changes in the fertility, morbidity, and mortality patterns in the community from the turn of the century to the present. The demographic reconstruction is based upon baptismal and marriage records, the administration of demographic proformae and population censuses. The high mortality, morbidity, and fertility variance suggest that the immigrant population has experienced a period of high opportunity for selection in the early 1900's and that Crow's index was gradually reduced to its present level.     

Etude des Parametres Experimentax Influencant la Formation de la Liaison Phosphotriester Activee par le BOP. Application en Synthese Oligodesoxyribonucleotidique

Abstract

The optimum conditions for the use of BOP as the condensing reagent in oligonucleotide synthesis have been determinated. They were applied to a rapid preparation of an undecanucleoside decaphosphate.     

Range expansion and distributional limits of the nine‐banded armadillo in the United States: an update of Taulman & Robbins (1996)

We conducted a new survey of biologists throughout the southern and central United States, in order to update our last analysis of the range expansion and distributional limits of the nine‐banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) since 1994. While the armadillo's range has remained stationary to the west along a line corresponding to about 50 cm annual precipitation, it has advanced to the north through central Kansas, into central Illinois, south‐western Indiana and western Kentucky, through central Tennessee, covering Alabama and all but the north‐eastern region of Georgia, and into central South Carolina. The population has reached a latitude corresponding to an average minimum daily January temperature of ?8 °C in Kansas . Armadillos may continue to move northwards in states farther east where they do not yet reach the ?8 °C zone. In the eastern seaboard states, other factors besides winter temperature extremes may be limiting the armadillo's range expansion.     

Unprecedented widespread occurrence of Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha in Ireland in 2017

The occurrence of non-native pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha in multiple river systems in Ireland in 2017 was unprecedented and reflected similar concurrent events observed in other countries in the North Atlantic region. Thirty-six fish were captured in a total of 11 river systems located in the south-west, west and north-west of Ireland in the period June to September 2017. The biological characteristics of sampled specimens are described and the potential for establishment in Ireland are considered.     

Moon Dust… Key to Cosmic Secrets

Students examine the bacterial expansion pattern and attempt to relate what they discover to expanding powers of two. They also relate what they see and discover to increasing living space requirements in a world of infinite space and finite space to discover that living space decreases as a function of one over expanding powers of two. The population doubling effect is also related to refuse generation and food supply requirements as well as human drinking requirements. During their investigations, students engage in a series of concrete activities to demonstrate the various effects of unabated population expansion.     

What are the reasons for the Prussian carp expansion in the upper Elbe River, Czech Republic?

Fifty five Prussian carp Carassius auratus gibelio were radio‐tracked weekly along the course of the upper Elbe River, for 15 months. In addition, diurnal movements were observed in three different habitat types (main channel, navigation canal and floodplain areas). Fish species composition from 10 fish ladders was regularly analysed in 1996, 2000 and 2001, and patterns of juvenile (0+ year) fish distribution and abundance were collected in 2000 and 2001, to support telemetric data on longitudinal migrations, and habitat preference within the studied stretch. Downstream migrations dominated in all seasons, being most intensive in spring and reaching a maximum distance of 85 km. Migration stopped when specimens found a floodplain area, where they occupied larger home ranges compared to the main channel. Migrations upstream of up to 2 km were rare, and specimens did not enter fish ladders. Spontaneous reproduction only occurred on the floodplain and its success was very low. The results suggested that neither upstream migrations, nor spontaneous reproduction represented the key mechanism for the Prussian carp invasion into the Elbe catchment area of the Czech Republic. It can be assumed that escapes from aquaculture activities are primarily responsible for its expansion.     

Probable direction of the postglacial colonization of rivers on northern slopes of the Carpathian Ridge by Barbus carpathicus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) evidenced by cline of genetic variation

A cline in microsatellite diversity appeared among populations of Barbus carpathicus in four adjacent river basins on the northern slopes of the Carpathian Ridge, with western populations more variable than eastern ones ( H _S equals 0·45, 0·32, 0·23 and 0·13, respectively). Overall genetic variation was low, likely reflecting population bottlenecks during postglacial expansions through the Danube–Vistula watershed and eastward into Carpathian tributaries of the Vistula River. Genetic similarities between populations in the westernmost tributary of the Dniester (Strwiąż River) and those in the adjacent Vistula tributary (San River) suggest that at least the western part of the Dniester basin was colonized from the Vistula River system.