To estimate the degree of functional connectivity between systems, we quantified alligator biomass and nutrient excretion in both systems. Seasonal wetlands provided nesting and nursery sites for adult females and juveniles, which constituted 0.78 g/m(2) biomass and excreted 0.05 g/m(2)/yr N, P, Ca, Mg, Na and K in that system. In contrast, the riverine system provided non-nesting

habitat for adults and sub-adults of both sexes, totaling 0.18 g/m(2) biomass and excreting 0.01 g/m(2)/yr of nutrients. Furthermore, sub-adults and adult females were documented moving across the terrestrial matrix, while adult males spent the duration of the study in the creek. Our results demonstrated that ontogenetic niche shifts in alligators establish connectivity

between seasonal wetlands Anlotinib and riverine systems Mocetinostat and with the surrounding terrestrial matrix. These findings have implications for the definition of jurisdictional wetlands under the US Supreme Court’s 2001 SWANCC decision and highlight the importance of ecological, as well as hydrological, connectivity. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Growths of GaN on Si(111) – (7 x 7) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) have been studied. Optimal conditions of MBE and the effect of a low-temperature (LT) buffer are followed. It is found that irrespective of the growth conditions and the growth strategies (direct versus two-step growth), a thin amorphous-like interface layer always forms. For smooth surfaces and better crystallinity of the epifilms, a LT-buffer preceding the high-temperature deposition is helpful, click here and the grown GaN films are of nitrogen-polar. Transport measurements of the heterojunctions of GaN on heavily p- and n-doped Si reveal ohmic behavior, whereas that of n-GaN on lightly doped n(-)-Si substrate shows rectifying characteristics. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3658850]“
“We report a female patient

with situs inversus, dextrocardia, a complex heart malformation, hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis, and abnormal ultrastructure of the respiratory epithelium cilia. Several animal models of this disorder implicate abnormal ciliary function in the genesis of hydrocephalus, and 11 patients were previously reported with hydrocephalus and the syndrome of primary ciliary dyskinesia. Primary ciliary dyskinesia-associated aqueductal stenosis should be considered as a possible cause for fetal or neonatal hydrocephalus if heterotaxy, heart malformations, and/or a probable genetic etiology are present.”
“Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) extracted from hen egg yolk has recently been considered to be superior to whole egg yolk in sperm cryopreservation of various animal species. Meanwhile, there was a notion that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in egg yolk may have a negative effect on post-thaw survival. The role of LDL and HDL in sperm cryopreservation of rhesus monkeys has not been explored.