Ecosystem services of tropical dry forests : insights from longterm ecological and social research on the Pacific coast of Mexico

In the search for an integrated understanding of the relationships among productive activities, human well-being, and ecosystem functioning, we evaluated the services delivered by a tropical dry forest (TDF) ecosystem in the Chamela Region, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. We synthesized information gathered for the past two decades as part of a long-term ecosystem research study and included social data collected in the past four years using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) conceptual framework as a guide. Here we identify the four nested spatial scales at which information has been obtained and emphasize one of them through a basin conceptual model. We then articulate the biophysical and socio-economic constraints and drivers determining the delivery of ecosystem services in the Region. We describe the nine most important services, the stakeholders who benefit from those services, and their degree of awareness of such services. We characterize spatial and temporal patterns of the services’ delivery as well as trade-offs among services and stakeholders. Finally, we contrast three alternative future scenarios on the delivery of ecosystem services and human well-being. Biophysical and socioeconomic features of the study site strongly influence human−ecosystem interactions, the ecosystem services delivered, the possible future trajectories of the ecosystem, and the effect on human well-being. We discuss future research approaches that will set the basis for an integrated understanding of human−ecosystem interactions and for constructing sustainable management strategies for the TDF.

Conducting polymer electrochemistry in ionic liquids

Applications of polymers like polypyrrole and polythiophene often require interaction with an electrolyte consisting of solvent and dissolved salt. Ionic Liquids (ILs) are pure saits, fluid at room temperature, that form charged electrolytes. Pure l-Bu-3-Me-Imidazolium PF₆ (BMI PF₆) a hydrophobic IL that has a wide potential window, was used to investigate the electrochemistry ofpolypyrrole. Enhanced electrochemic~l stability of polypyrrole was obtained on repetitive redox cycling with respect to the equivalent propylene carbonate electrolyte with tetrabutylammonium hexaflurophosphate (TBA PF₆) electrolyte.

Ion effects in REDOX cycling of conducting polymer based electrochromic materials

Conducting polymer based electrochromic devices were assembled with various ionic liquid (IL) based electrolytes to probe the role of the ion structure on electrochromic performance. When the IL contained the same anion as the dopant ion used in the conducting polymers an enhanced electrochromic performance was observed providing high photopic contrast at low applied potential.

Bacterial membrane vesicles deliver peptidoglycan to NOD1 in epithelial cells

Gram-negative bacterial peptidoglycan is specifically recognized by the host intracellular sensor NOD1, resulting in the generation of innate immune responses. Although epithelial cells are normally refractory to external stimulation with peptidoglycan, these cells have been shown to respond in a NOD1-dependent manner to Gram-negative pathogens that can either invade or secrete factors into host cells. In the present work, we report that Gram-negative bacteria can deliver peptidoglycan to cytosolic NOD1 in host cells via a novel mechanism involving outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). We purified OMVs from the Gram-negative mucosal pathogens: Helicobacter pylori, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Neisseria gonorrhoea and demonstrated that these peptidoglycan containing OMVs upregulated NF-κB and NOD1-dependent responses in vitro. These OMVs entered epithelial cells through lipid rafts thereby inducing NOD1-dependent responses in vitro. Moreover, OMVs delivered intragastrically to mice-induced innate and adaptive immune responses via a NOD1-dependent but TLR-independent mechanism. Collectively, our findings identify OMVs as a generalized mechanism whereby Gram-negative bacteria deliver peptidoglycan to cytosolic NOD1. We propose that OMVs released by bacteria in vivo may promote inflammation and pathology in infected hosts.

Reliability and vailidity of self-reported questionnaires related to adolescent violence and consequences, Thailand

In Thailand physical violence among male adolescents is considered a significant public health issue, although there has been little published research into the aetiology and functions of violence in Thai youth. Research in this area has been hampered by a lack of psychometrically sound tools that have been validated to assess problem behaviours in Asian youth. The purpose of this paper is to provide validity and reliability data on an instrument to measure violence in Thai youth. In this study, reliability and validity data for a sample of adolescent Thai youth are reported for the Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTC-YS), a measure of risk and protective factors for violent behaviour, and the STAXI-II, a measure of angry experience and expression. The findings showed overall high internal consistency for both questionnaires, and there was evidence of construct validity. It is concluded that these measures are appropriate for use in research that seeks to investigate youth violence among adolescents in Thailand.

One-Step Wet-Spinning Process of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):Poly(styrenesulfonate) Fibers and the Origin of Higher Electrical Conductivity

A simplified wet-spinning process for the production of continuous poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) fibers is reported. Conductivity enhancement of PEDOT:PSS fibers up to 223 S cm−1 has been demonstrated when these fibers are exposed to ethylene glycol as a post-synthesis processing step. In a new spinning approach it is shown that by employing a spinning formulation consisting of an aqueous blend of PEDOT:PSS and poly(ethlylene glycol), the need for post-spinning treatment with ethylene glycol is eliminated. With this approach, 30-fold conductivity enhancements from 9 to 264 S cm−1 are achieved with respect to an untreated fiber. This one-step approach also demonstrates a significant enhancement in the redox properties of the fibers. These improvements are attributed to an improved molecular ordering of the PEDOT chains in the direction of the fiber axis and the consequential enrichment of linear (or expanded-coil like) conformation to preference bipolaronic electronic structures as evidenced by Raman spectroscopy, solid-state electron spin resonance (ESR) and in situ electrochemical ESR studies.

The citrate-mediated shape evolution of transforming photomorphic silver nanoparticles

The photoconversion of photomorphic silver nanoparticles from discs to prisms via citrate mediated growth on the twin plane faces of the nanoparticles is demonstrated. This systematic shape evolution from discs to hexagons and then prisms of increasing aspect ratios is a result of the growth process being confined to specific faces of the growing nanoparticles.

'Hottie Doctors': academics as celetoids, a case study of Dr Bonnie Blossman and Big, Rich Texas

Cassandra Atherton is a senior lecturer at Deakin University. She has written several articles on academic public intellectuals for international journals and is currently writing a book, Wise Guys, on the changing role of the public intellectual in academe, based on her interviews with Noam Chomsky, Harold Bloom, Camille Paglia, Stephen Greenblatt and others. A book of interviews with these American public intellectuals, entitled In So Many Words, was published by Australian Scholarly Press in 2013. She has also written a critical monograph, a novel and a book of poetry.

Assessing effectiveness of aggression replacement training at a technical college in Thailand

Youth violence is a significant public health issue in Thailand where most people who are injured are vocational college students. There is a need to identify methods whereby such violence can be prevented. We trialed a group program in a technical college in Thailand with 23 students who received a modified version of aggression replacement training. We then compared their results with those of 24 students who did not receive any intervention or preintervention at 1 and 3 month followups. Although we found little evidence supporting the effectiveness of the intervention, participants in the intervention group suggested in the followup in-depth interviews that they felt more able to avoid or ignore provocation, and that they thought more about the consequences of aggressive behavior than they did prior to the intervention.

Influenza symptoms and their impact on elderly adults: randomised trial of AS03-adjuvanted or non-adjuvanted inactivated trivalent seasonal influenza vaccines.

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are particularly relevant in influenza vaccine trials in the elderly where reduction in symptom severity could prevent illness-related functional impairment.

Strain-responsive polyurethane/PEDOT:PSS elastomeric composite fibers with high electrical conductivity

It is a challenge to retain the high stretchability of an elastomer when used in polymer composites. Likewise, the high conductivity of organic conductors is typically compromised when used as filler in composite systems. Here, it is possible to achieve elastomeric fiber composites with high electrical conductivity at relatively low loading of the conductor and, more importantly, to attain mechanical properties that are useful in strain-sensing applications. The preparation of homogenous composite formulations from polyurethane (PU) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) that are also processable by fiber wet-spinning techniques are systematically evaluated. With increasing PEDOT:PSS loading in the fiber composites, the Young's modulus increases exponentially and the yield stress increases linearly. A model describing the effects of the reversible and irreversible deformations as a result of the re-arrangement of PEDOT:PSS filler networks within PU and how this relates to the electromechanical properties of the fibers during the tensile and cyclic stretching is presented. Conducting elastomeric fibers based on a composite of polyurethane (PU) and PEDOT:PSS, produced by a wet-spinning method, have high electrical conductivity and stretchability. These fibers can sense large strains by changes in resistance. The PU/PEDOT:PSS fiber is optimized to achieve the best strain sensing. PU/PEDOT:PSS fibers can be produced on a large scale and integrated into conventional textiles by weaving or knitting. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.