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Past the Opening: building towards the present, on-going dissemination of Dutch archaeological data as part of the DANS archive
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Strong interactions between stoichiometric constraints and algal defenses: Evidence from population dynamics of Daphnia and algae in phosphorus-limited microcosms
No full textEnhancing Scholarly Publications: Developing Hybrid Monographs in the Humanities and Social Sciences
No full textEnhancing publications has a long history but is gaining acceleration as authors and publishers explore electronic tablets as devices for dissemination and presentation. Enhancement of scholarly publications, in contrast, more often takes place in a Web environment and is coupled with presentation of supplementary materials related to research. The approach to enhancing scholarly publications presented in this article goes a step further and involves the interlinking of the “objects” of a document: datasets, supplementary materials, secondary analyses, and post-publication interventions. This approach connects the user-centricity of Web 2.0 with the Semantic Web. It aims at facilitating long-term content structure through standardized formats intended to improve interoperability between concepts and terms within and across knowledge domains. We explored this conception of enhancement on a small set of books prepared for traditional academic publishers. While the project was primarily an exercise in development, the conclusion section of the article reflects on areas where conceptual and empirical studies could be initiated to complement this new direction in scholarly publishing.
Plant-soil feedback: the past, the present and future challenge
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Plant–soil feedbacks is becoming an important concept for explaining vegetation dynamics, the invasiveness of introduced exotic species in new habitats and how terrestrial ecosystems respond to global land use and climate change. Using a new conceptual model, we show how critical alterations in plant–soil feedback interactions can change the assemblage of plant communities. We highlight recent advances, define terms and identify future challenges in this area of research and discuss how variations in strengths and directions of plant–soil feedbacks can explain succession, invasion, response to climate warming and diversity-productivity relationships.
While there has been a rapid increase in understanding the biological, chemical and physical mechanisms and their interdependencies underlying plant–soil feedback interactions, further progress is to be expected from applying new experimental techniques and technologies, linking empirical studies to modelling and field-based studies that can include plant–soil feedback interactions on longer time scales that also include long-term processes such as litter decomposition and mineralization.
Significant progress has also been made in analysing consequences of plant–soil feedbacks for biodiversity-functioning relationships, plant fitness and selection.
To further integrate plant–soil feedbacks into ecological theory, it will be important to determine where and how observed patterns may be generalized, and how they may influence evolution.
Synthesis. Gaining a greater understanding of plant–soil feedbacks and underlying mechanisms is improving our ability to predict consequences of these interactions for plant community composition and productivity under a variety of conditions. Future research will enable better prediction and mitigation of the consequences of human-induced global changes, improve efforts of restoration and conservation and promote sustainable provision of ecosystem services in a rapidly changing world.
Counseling Customers: Emerging Roles for Genetic Counselors in the Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Market
Get PDFIndividuals now have access to an increasing number of internet resources offering personal genomics services. As the direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT) industry expands, critics have called for pre- and post-test genetic counseling to be included with the product. Several genetic testing companies offer genetic counseling. There has been no examination to date of this service provision, whether it meets critics’ concerns and implications it may have for the genetic counseling profession. Considering the increasing relevance of genetics in healthcare, the complexity of genetic information provided by DTC GT, the mediating role of the internet in counseling, and potential conflicts of interest, this is a topic which deserves further attention. In this paper we offer a discourse analysis of ways in which genetic counseling is represented on DTC GT websites, blogs and other online material. This analysis identified four types of genetic counseling represented on the websites: the integrated counseling product; discretionary counseling; independent counseling; and product advice. Genetic counselors are represented as having the following roles: genetics educator; mediator; lifestyle advisor; risk interpreter; and entrepreneur. We conclude that genetic counseling as represented on DTC GT websites demonstrates shifting professional roles and forms of expertise in genetic counseling. Genetic counselors are also playing an important part in how the genetic testing market is taking shape. Our analysis offers important and timely insights into recent developments in the genetic counseling profession, which have relevance for practitioners, researchers and policy makers concerned with the evolving field of personal genomics.
Keywords
Genetic counseling Internet Direct-to-consumer genetic testing Discourse analysis
Growth and temperature-related phenotypic plasticity in the cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii
No full textCylindrospermopsis raciborskii is an invasive and potentially toxic cyanobacterium, which has recently spread worldwide, mainly because of its tolerance to a wide range of climatic conditions. C. raciborskii is able to change several traits in response to environmental changes and its morphology is also affected by these changes (especially in nutrients). We also expected temperature to affect the morphology of this cyanobacterium. We examined the growth and morphology of C. raciborskii at different temperatures and compared laboratory results to the morphology of this cyanobacterium in situ. As expected, growth rates increased with temperature. In addition, a high carrying capacity at 32 degrees C suggests that this cyanobacterium is able to form more dense blooms at high temperatures. Fragile trichomes and low growth rates were observed at 12 degrees C. An increase in the growth rate related to temperature resulted in a decrease in trichome length, with shorter trichomes at 32 degrees C. The same pattern was observed in wild populations of C. raciborskii in a tropical reservoir, where shorter trichomes were observed in warmer months, when biomass was highest. This species' high ability to adapt to different environmental conditions throughout the year (i.e., nutrients, temperature) may have provided it with an additional advantage to increase its perennial blooms, mainly in tropical regions. [KEYWORDS: blooms cyanobacteria global warming invasive species morphology nitrogen limitation nostocales cyanoprokaryote photosynthesis chlorophyceae cyanophyceae morphology tolerance cultures waters]
