Assessing Grey Squirrel Dispersal Patterns within the Landscape Using Sequence Variation

Abstract

The grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis is thought to have contributed to the decline of red squirrel S. vulgaris populations in the UK through resource competition and disease spread. This study used mtDNA sequencing to assess patterns of grey squirrel dispersal in the UK. Patterns of genetic variation within the dloop sequence were characterised for seven grey squirrel populations. Infiltration directions and potential barriers to dispersal are identified and discussed, with a focus on Cumbria, a county at the forefront of grey squirrel expansion. Understanding the dynamics of grey squirrel dispersal will aid their management at a landscape scale and enhance the conservation of red squirrels.     

Soy protein concentrate and heated soy flours as protein sources in milk replacer for preruminant calves

Thirty-two male calves (8/treatment) in Trial 1 and 41 male and female calves (10 or 11/treatment) in Trial 2 were fed milk replacers containing 100% of the total protein from milk sources or 25% from milk and 75% from a soy product: soy protein concentrate; commercial heated (fully cooked) soy flour; or experimental soy flour for 6 wk. The experimental flour received moist heat sufficient to reduce trypsin inhibitor to 1 unit/mg. Calf performance improved with age on all diets. Growth, protein and dry matter digestibility, nitrogen retention, and morphology of the intestinal mucosa of calves on the all milk-protein diet were superior to those of calves on diets containing a soy product. All soy-fed groups had a humoral but no cell-mediated immune reaction to soy proteins. Soy protein concentrate and the experimental heated soy flour were superior to the commercial heated soy flour as protein sources for milk replacer.     

Early stimulated emission amplification by an inverted nuclear spin population and the H-maser

Two different topics are discussed: (1) early (1950) stimulated emission amplification observed with a pure LiF crystal having an inverted population of the nuclear spin system and (2) the atomic H-maser.     

Method detection limit determination and application of a convenient headspace analysis method for methyl tert-butyl ether in water

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a common groundwater contaminant, introduced to the environment by leaking petroleum storage tanks, urban runoff, and motorized watercraft. In this study. a simplified (static) headspace analysis method was adapted for determination of MTBE in water samples and soil water extracts. The MDL of the headspace method was calculated to be 2.0 microg L(-1) by the EPA single-concentration design method(1) and 1.2 microg L(-1) by a calibration method developed by Hubaux and Vos (Hubaux, A.; Vos, G. Anal. Chem. 1970,42, 849-855). The MDL calculated with the Hubaux and Vos method was favored because it considers both a true positive and a false positive. The static headspace method was applied to analysis of a tap water sample and a monitoring well sample from a gasoline service station, a river sample, and aqueous extracts from soil excavated during removal of a leaking underground storage tank (LUST). The water samples examined in this study had MTTBE concentrations ranging from 6 to 19 microg L(-1). Aqueous extracts of a soil sample taken from the LUST site had 8 microg L(-1) MTBE.     

Direct determination of soil surface-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum-contaminated soils by real-time aerosol mass spectrometry

Soil surface-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were identified by use of Real-Time Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (RTAMS) in two NIST standard research material (SRM) soils (Montana SRM 2710 and Peruvian SRM 4355) each contaminated separately with three common petroleum hydrocarbons (diesel fuel, gasoline, and kerosene). The described contaminated soil analysis required no sample preparation. Direct laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric analysis of individual soil particles contaminated with each of the petroleum hydrocarbons at three different contamination levels (0.8, 8, and 80 ppth (wt/wt)) yielded detectable PAH cation distributions that ranged from m/z 128 to 234, depending on the fuel contaminant. The same analysis performed on uncontaminated SRM soils revealed very little (Peruvian) to no (Montana) detectable PAH species. Size analysis showed that most of the individual soil particles analyzed were between 1 and 5 microm in diameter. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments identified alkyl-substituted two- and three-ringed PAHs in all three petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils. However, due to similarities in fragmentation patterns, MS/MS analysis of higher MW species (m/z > 200) was unable to distinguish between the possibility of highly alkyl-substituted three-ringed PAHs and hydrogenated four-ringed PAHs. The described technique offers the direct, rapid determination and characterization of surface-bound PAHs in petroleum-contaminated soils at part-per-million levels without prior extraction, separation, or other sample preparation methods.     

4-Defect repair of grade 4 cystocele

PURPOSE: The 4-defect repair of grade 4 cystocele corrects discrete and severe deficiencies of vesicourethral support. We describe this technique used during pelvic reconstruction in 130 women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During a 3-year period 130 patients (age range 35 to 96 years) underwent repair of grade 4 cystocele using the 4-defect repair technique. Cystocele repair had been performed in 60 patients (46%) and hysterectomy had been performed in 85 (65%). A "goalpost incision" is used in the vaginal wall to facilitate separation of the wall from underlying perivesical fascia, entry into the retropubic space, and exposure of the urethropelvic ligament, cardinal ligament and perivesical fascia. The 4 polypropylene sutures are used to provide an anterior vaginal wall sling which is modified to incorporate perivesical fascia and cardinal ligaments. Central defect repair is achieved by approximation of the cardinal ligaments and midline plication of the perivesical fascia over absorbable mesh. RESULTS: A total of 112 patients were available for followup which ranged from 6 to 42 months (mean 21). Repair of grade 4 cystocele was accompanied by other transvaginal repairs in 94 patients (83%), including rectocele repair in 81, hysterectomy in 22 and enterocele repair in 31. Of the patients 92% had excellent objective and subjective results for anatomical cystocele repair. Of the patients with preoperative stress urinary incontinence 90% had excellent or good subjective results. De novo urge incontinence was seen in 7% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The 4-defect repair technique relies on anatomical restoration of 4 distinct deficiencies of pelvic support and is highly effective for relief of symptoms of grade 4 cystocele.     

Tyrosine-dependent and -independent mechanisms of STAT3 activation by the human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) receptor are differentially utilized depending on G-CSF concentration

The granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor (G-CSF-R) activates multiple STAT proteins. Although the membrane-proximal cytoplasmic region of the G-CSF-R is necessary and sufficient for activation of STAT1 and STAT5, activation of STAT3 requires the membrane distal region that contains four tyrosines. Although one of these (Y704) has previously been shown to be involved in STAT3 activation from a truncated G-CSF-R derived from a patient with severe chronic neutropenia (SCN), this tyrosine is not required for STAT3 activation by the full-length G-CSF-R. To investigate possible alternative mechanisms of STAT3 activation, we generated a series of Ba/F3 cell transfectants expressing the wild-type G-CSF-R or mutant receptors that either completely lack tyrosines or retain just one of the four cytoplasmic tyrosines of the G-CSF-R. We show that, at saturating G-CSF concentrations, STAT3 activation from the full-length G-CSF-R is efficiently mediated by the C-terminal domain in a manner independent of receptor tyrosines. In contrast, at low G-CSF concentrations, Y704 and Y744 of the G-CSF-R play a major role in STAT3 activation. Both tyrosine-dependent and -independent mechanisms of STAT3 activation are sensitive to the Jak2 inhibitor AG-490, follow similar kinetics, and lead to transactivation of a STAT3 reporter construct, indicating functional equivalence. STAT3 activation is also impaired, particularly at nonsaturating G-CSF concentrations, in bone marrow cells from mice expressing a truncated G-CSF-R (gcsfr-triangle up715). These findings suggest that G-CSF-induced STAT3 activation during basal granulopoiesis (low G-CSF) and "emergency" granulopoiesis (high G-CSF) are differentially controlled. In addition, the data establish the importance of the G-CSF-R C-terminus in STAT3 activation in primary cells, which has implications for understanding why truncated G-CSF-R derived from SCN patients are defective in maturation signaling.