Accurate environmental bioindication in floodplains in spite of an extreme flood event

The ecological reaction of species on environmental factors can differ both, temporally and geographically. Therefore, bioindicator systems must be shown to remain accurate at different places and points of time. Extreme events pose challenges for testing this robustness, which has not yet been explored systematically. The unique opportunity of the extreme flooding of the river Elbe in August 2002 was used for such a test. The bioindicator system for mean groundwater depth during the vegetation period and annual duration of inundation in floodplains studied here was developed with data collected in 1999. Data from 2003 were used to analyse the dependence of the bioindication results on the humidity of the study plots and taxonomic group (plants, molluscs and carabid beetles). For the duration of inundation, the accuracy of bioindication in 2003 was similar to that in 1999, except for the medium‐humid and dry plots using molluscs as indicators. For groundwater depth, the accuracy of bioindication in 2003 was similar to that of the reference year except in the dry plots with significantly lower accuracy for all species groups. With a few exceptions, the bioindicator system is shown to be robust and to remain accurate in spite of an extreme flood event. In conclusion, the relevance of extreme events for the robustness of bioindicator systems differs between the indicated parameters and taxonomic groups. The results stress the need to take into account the limits of the working range and the occurrence of extreme events, when testing and applying bioindicator systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Additional cassettes for epitope and fluorescent fusion proteins in Candida albicans

Epitope tags that confer specific properties, including affinity for resins or antibodies or detection by fluorescence microscopy, are highly useful for biochemical and cell biological investigations. In Candida albicans and several other related yeasts, the CUG codon specifies serine instead of leucine, requiring that molecular tools be customized for use in this important human fungal pathogen. Here we report the construction of a set of plasmids containing 13‐Myc, 3HA, GST, V5 or His9 epitope cassettes that facilitate PCR‐mediated construction of epitope‐tagged proteins. Common primer sets amplify the different tags with two different selectable markers. In addition, we report construction of a codon‐optimized Discosoma red fluorescent protein (DsRFP) gene. Like mCherryRFP, this DsRFP signal is detectable in transformants at the colony level and is useful in double‐labelling experiments with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Finally, we describe a construct that directs PCR‐mediated two‐step insertion of GFP internal to a coding sequence, which facilitates tagging of secreted proteins, including GPI‐anchor cell wall proteins that require endogenous N‐ and C‐termini for function. These reagents expand the repertoire of molecular tools available for working with C. albicans and other members of the CUG clade of pathogenic yeasts. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural,optical and magnetic characterizations of Mn-doped MgO nanoparticles

Structural, optical and room temperature magnetic properties of Mn-doped MgO nanoparticles with Mn fractions (5–50 at.%), were investigated. The as-prepared pure MgO, with grain size of about 15 nm, exhibits two magnetization components, one is diamagnetic and another is superparamagnetic. After removing the diamagnetic contribution, the magnetization curve exhibits superparamagnetic behavior which may be attributed to vacancy defects. As the Mn content increases, the lattice parameter decreases, the ferromagnetism appears and the emission bands were considerably blue shifted. First principle electronic structure calculations reveal the decrease of both the gap and the Curie temperature with increasing Mn concentration. The obtained results suggest that both Mn doping and oxygen vacancies play an important role in the development of room temperature ferromagnetism.     

Co-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles:Structural,Morphological,Optical,Magnetic and Antibacterial Studies

Un-doped and Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles （NPs） with different weight ratios （0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt% of Co） were synthesized by a facile and rapid microwave-assisted combustion method using urea as a fuel. The prepared NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, high resolution scanning electron microscopy （HR-SEM）, energy dispersive X-ray analysis （EDX）, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy （DRS）, photoluminescence （PL） spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry （VSM）. XRD patterns refined by the Rietveld method indicated that Co-doped ZnO had a single pure phase with wurtzite structure suggesting that Co^2＋ ions would occupy Zn^2＋ ionic sites within the ZnO crystal lattice. Interestingly, the morphology was found to convert substantially from grains to nanoparticles with close-packed periodic array of hexagonal-like shape and then into randomly distributed spherical NPs with the variation of Co-content. The optical band gap estimated using DRS was found to be red-shifted from 3.22 eV for the un-doped ZnO NPs then decrease up to 2.88 eV with increasing Co-content. PL spectra showed a strong green emission band thus confirming the formation of pure single ZnO phase. Magnetic studies showed that Co-doped ZnO NPs exhibited room temperature ferromagnetism （RTFM） and that the saturation magnetization attained a maximum value of 2.203 × 10^-3 emu/g for the highest Co-content. The antibacterial studies performed against a set of bacterial strains showed that the 2.0 wt% Co-doped ZnO NPs possessed a greater antibacterial effect.     

The Impact of Being a Support Provider to a Person Living in the Community With a Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: To examine the personal impact of being a support provider (SP) to a community-dwelling person with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Study Design: Quantitative phase (interview-completed questionnaire; n=100), followed by qualitative phase (8 focus groups; n=46). Participants: Convenience sample; self-selected subsample in focus groups. Main Outcome Measures: Productivity status, satisfaction with community integration, quality of life. Results: Supporting a person with SCI brings significant life change. Greater support provision was related to lower productivity and community integration of the SPs. They felt underserved and unprepared emotionally and cognitively for their new, unanticipated role. Conclusions: More attention, understanding, and service directed to SPs are required to reduce trial-and-error learning and emotional and physical burden. Enhanced injury resource materials, peer networks, and knowledge-building opportunities may ameliorate SP difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mouse strain differences in apomorphine-induced behavior: An empirical and methodological study.

Evaluated the behavioral response to intraperitoneal apomorphine HCl (0.5–32 mg/kg) in BALB/cJ, CBA/J, and C57BL/6J male mice. Dose–response curves for each component of the drug-induced behavioral repertoire were derived, and effective dose-50 (the dose at which 50% of the Ss met or exceeded a given rating) and slope were calculated for each. This method of analysis allows for a more quantitative estimate of drug sensitivity. Behaviors assessed included grooming, sniffing, climbing, and gnawing. Although some strain differences were observed in the qualitative characteristics of the response, differences in actual drug sensitivity were significant only at the higher ratings. Findings are discussed in relation to methodological and analytical problems in previous strain-comparison experiments. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward effective supervision: An operant analysis and comparison of managers at work.

Examined whether the operant-based categories of behavior in the Operant Supervisory Taxonomy and Index (OSTI), developed by the present author and colleagues (see record 1986-21000-001), can distinguish between managers considered effective and marginally effective in motivating others. Using the OSTI, observers categorized the behaviors of 2 extreme groups of managers. The effective group was composed of 12 managers rated and ranked in the top 28% in terms of motivating others by their superiors; the marginal group was composed of 12 managers in the bottom 28%. Each manager was observed up to 20 times by trained observers, unaware of the managers' groupings. 465 30-min observations were made in a medical insurance firm over a 7-mo period. Results show that the effective managers spent significantly more time collecting performance information and used a particular method of monitoring (work sampling) that involved inspecting the work itself or watching persons conducting the work. No differences were found in the time spent providing performance consequences or the positiveness or negativeness of the consequences. Findings illustrate the advantages of explaining leader behavior from a general theoretical perspective. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Multidimensional Anger Inventory.

Describes the development of and psychometric data for an inventory—the Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI)—that is sensitive to the multidimensional nature of the anger construct. It was hypothesized that the MAI would include scales reflective of the following dimensions of anger: frequency, duration, magnitude, mode of expression, hostile outlook, and range of anger-eliciting situations. The mode of expression dimension was expected to contain separate anger-in, anger-out, guilt, brood, and anger-discuss measures. The MAI was administered to 124 female and 74 male 40–63 yr old male factory workers. Factor analyses of the MAI within the 2 samples showed that the frequency, duration, and magnitude dimensions clustered together to form an Anger-Arousal factor that accounted for 64 and 71% of the variance in the 2 samples, respectively. The range of anger-eliciting situations and hostile outlook emerged as separate dimensions, as hypothesized. Mode of anger expression was best described by 2 factors labeled Anger-In and Anger-Out. Psychometric analyses of the scale showed that it possessed adequate test–retest reliability (r?=?.75) and high internal consistency (alpha?=?.84 and .89 for the 2 samples). The validity of the scale was supported by the expected pattern of relations with other inventories designed to assess anger of hostility (e.g., the Buss-Durkee Hostility-Guilt Inventory). (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perioral somatosensory determinants of nursing behavior in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Prior to assuming the upright crouching posture over their pups during nursing bouts, lactating rats typically engage in several oral behaviors, including nuzzling, licking and rearranging pups. By acutely depriving dams of various aspects of perioral stimulation from pups (with anesthesia of the mystacial pads or of the tongue, with mouth suturing, or with muzzling), we found the following: (1) distal stimulation from pups maintains proximity-seeking behavior, but is insufficient to stimulate nursing behavior. (2) Lack of tongue feedback decreases pup licking and hastens the onset of crouching. (3) Snout, but not tongue, contact with pups is required for hovering over them. (4) The position of the dam while hovering over her litter enables the pups to gain access to her ventrum, thereby provoking her upright, crouching posture. (5) Older pups are capable of bypassing dam's perioral attentions and stimulating crouching directly by burrowing under the dam's ventrum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)