Quantification of two decades of shallow-water coral reef habitat decline in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary using Landsat data (1984–2002)

The loss of coral reef habitats has been witnessed at a global scale including in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. In addition to field surveys that can be spatially limited, remote sensing can provide a synoptic view of the changes occurring on coral reef habitats. Here, we utilize an 18-year time series of Landsat 5/TM and 7/ETM+ images to assess changes in eight coral reef sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, namely Carysfort Reef, Grecian Rocks, Molasses Reef, Conch Reef, Sombrero Reef, Looe Key Reef, Western Sambo and Sand Key Reef. Twenty-eight Landsat images (1984–2002) were used, with imagery gathered every 2 years during spring, and every 6 years during fall. The image dataset was georectified, calibrated to remote sensing reflectance and corrected for atmospheric and water-column effects. A Mahalanobis distance classification was trained for four habitat classes (‘coral’, ‘sand’, ‘bare hardbottom’ and ‘covered hardbottom’) using in situ ground-truthing data collected in 2003–2004 and using the spectral statistics from a 2002 image. The red band was considered useful only for benthic habitats in depths less than 6 m. Overall mean coral habitat loss for all sites classified by Landsat was 61% (3.4%/year), from a percentage habitat cover of 19% (1984) down to 7.6% (2002). The classification results for the eight different sites were critically reviewed. A detailed pixel by pixel examination of the spatial patterns across time suggests that the results range from ecologically plausible to unreliable due to spatial inconsistencies and/or improbable ecological successions. In situ monitoring data acquired by the Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (CREMP) for the eight reef sites between 1996 and 2002 showed a loss in coral cover of 52% (8.7%/year), whereas the Landsat-derived coral habitat areas decreased by 37% (6.2%/year). A direct trend comparison between the entire CREMP percent coral cover data set (1996–2004) and the entire Landsat-derived coral habitat areas showed no significant difference between the two time series (ANCOVA; F-test, p = 0.303, n = 32), despite the different scales of measurements.     

Modulation of Lumen Formation by Microgeometrical Bioactive Cues and Migration Mode of Actin Machinery

How endothelial cells (ECs) express the particular filopodial or lamellipodial form of the actin machinery is critical to understanding EC functions such as angiogenesis and sprouting. It is not known how these mechanisms coordinately promote lumen formation of ECs. Here, adhesion molecules (RGD peptides) and inductor molecules (BMP‐2 mimetic peptides) are micropatterned onto polymer surfaces by a photolithographic technique to induce filopodial and lamellipodial migration modes. Firstly, the effects of peptide microgeometrical distribution on EC adhesion, orientation and morphogenesis are evaluated. Large micropatterns (100 μm) promote EC orientation without lumen formation, whereas small micropatterns (10–50 μm) elicit a collective cell organization and induce EC lumen formation, in the case of RGD peptides. Secondly, the correlation between EC actin machinery expression and EC self‐assembly into lumen formation is addressed. Only the filopodial migration mode (mimicked by RGD) but not lamellipodial migration mode (mimicked by BMP‐2) promotes EC lumen formation. This work gives a new concept for the design of biomaterials for tissue engineering and may provide new insight for angiogenesis inhibition on tumors.     

Coping through emotional approach: Scale construction and validation.

Four studies demonstrate the psychometric adequacy and validity of scales designed to assess coping through emotional approach. In separate undergraduate samples, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of dispositional (Study 1) and situational (Study 3) coping item sets yielded 2 distinct emotional approach coping factors: emotional processing (i.e., active attempts to acknowledge and understand emotions) and emotional expression. The 2 scales yielded high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. A study (Study 2) of young adults and their parents established the scales' interjudge reliabilities. Longitudinal (Study 3) and experimental (Study 4) research supported the predictive validity of the emotional approach coping scales with regard to adjustment to stressful encounters. Findings highlight the utility of functionalist theories of emotion as applied to coping theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pattern of perceived stress and anxiety in pregnancy predicts preterm birth.

Objective: To determine whether the pattern of prenatal stress, as compared to prenatal stress assessed at a single gestational time point, predicts preterm delivery (PTD). Design: Perceived stress and anxiety were assessed in 415 pregnant women at 18-20 and 30-32 weeks' gestation. Main Outcome Measures: Gestational length was determined by last menstrual period and confirmed by early pregnancy ultrasound. Births were categorized as preterm (     

New sources of resistance to Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) and Zabrotes subfasciatus Boheman (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in mature seeds of five species of Phaseolus

The importance of carefully applied bioassay techniques is highlighted for identifying resistance of Phaseolus spp to the bruchids Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) and Zabrotes subfasciatus Boheman. Two potential sources of resistance are identified amongst the varieties of P. vulgaris screened. In one the presence of a lectin-like protein (LLP) was identified, which has previously been associated with resistance, while in the other, resistance may be linked to the presence of a novel protein, similar to but not the same as LLP. The use of anti-LLP antibodies are suggested as a useful tool for distinguishing between resistant and susceptible varieties. Five varieties of P. lunatus and six of P. acutifolius are shown to be resistant to A. obtectus, and the potential is recognized for transferring resistant genes to P. vulgaris via interspecific crosses.     

The in Vitro Pfnetration of Hydrophilic and Lipophilic Drugs from Transparent Oil-Water Gels Through Excised Human Epidermis: A Comparative Study with Other Dermatological Vehicles

Within the scope OF evaluating transparent oil-water gels as dermatological vehicles, the percutaneous absorption of both a hydrophilic drug, tetracaine hydrochloride, and a lipophilic drug, benzyl nicotinate, is studied using excised human epidermis. From a comparison of the results with those of release experiments, it appears that in most cases the penetration of both drugs through the epidermis occurs at a much lower rate than their release from the vehicles. This indicates that the penetration process constitutes the rate limiting step.

For both drugs the penetration rate from the transparent oil-water gel through human epidermis is comparable to those from other commonly used vehicles. Due to the higher lipophilicity of benzyl nicotinate, however, its penetration occurs faster than for tetracaine hydrochloride. As to the influence OF drug concentration in the vehicle on penetration rate, the results do not provide a decisive answer.     

Factors Influencing Recovery of Heat-injured Bacillus thuringiensis Spores. Statistical Approach

The influence of several factors on recovery of heat-treated Bacillus thuringiensis spores was examined including treatment conditions (time/temperature), dilution buffer (phosphate buffer, peptone water at 15 mg/L), recovery temperature and enumeration medium constituents (lysozyme, catalase, lactic acid hemicalcium salt, glucose, MgSO₄, sodium chloride). A fractional factorial design was used to determine the incidence and interactions of these factors. Specific significant factors (treatment conditions, dilution buffer, recovery temperature, glucose and NaCl addition) were derived from this analysis and then tested in a general linear regression model which assessed their influences. The maximal count was obtained when spores diluted in peptone buffer were incubated at 25°C in nutrient agar containing NaCl and glucose.