9,830 research outputs found

    Records on the distribution of Ptychanthoideae (subfam. of Lejeuneaceae, Hepaticae) in Australia

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    Three species are new for the Northern Territory of Australia: Acrolejeunea securifolia (Nees) Steph. ex Watts ssp. securifolia, Archilejeunea planiuscula (Mitt.) Steph. and Mastigolejeunea ligulata (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Schiffn., and one for Queensland: Thysananthus australis (Steph.) B. Thiers & Gradst. New records of species are given, which were previously known only from one or very few localities, including: Caudalejeunea cristiloba (Steph.) Gradst. and Lopholejeunea plicatiscypha (Taylor) Steph

    ALT-C 2011 Abstracts

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    This is a PDF of the abstracts for all the sessions at the 2011 ALT conference. It is designed to be used alongside the online version of the conference programme. It was made public on 1 September, with a "topped and tailed" made live on 2 September

    The educational value of student generated podcasts

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    Podcasting is becoming a well established technology in Higher Education (HE). However, most applications tend to use staff-developed content to provide material to supplement lectures. The use of learner-generated podcasts and its impact on the learning of both student producers and listeners are under researched. This paper reports on a pilot study of student-created podcasts. The podcasts were developed by a group of medical students at the University of Leicester who chose to study a genetic module in their second year. The content of the podcasts was entirely generated by students. Their topics covered a range of ethical issues surrounding genetics. Five student-developed podcasts were made available in early 2007 for other medical students to access through the Medical School Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The study focused on the impact of these student-developed podcasts on student producers’ learning. It demonstrated how podcasting can empower learners and help them become more active and independent learners, and how student developed podcasts can promote engagement and motivation for learning, improve cognitive learning and develop transferable team-working skills among student producers. This paper offers an example of student-generated podcasts from practice and insights on how this practice might be expanded and transferred to other learning contexts with HE sectors

    Alt-X turns 10: unclassifiable writing triumphs

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    Darren Tofts interviews American artist and author Mark Amerik

    Flora of Mt. Sin-sun-bong of Gangwon Province

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    This study was carried out to investigate the flora of Mt. Sin-sun-bong (alt. 1,204m) and adjacent regions located on the northern side of Seol-ak National Park, in province Gangwon-do, from April to September, 2002. The purpose of our study was to enlist vascular plant species of Mt. Sin-sun-bong, Ma-san (alt. 1,252m) and 780 peak (alt. 780m) and to inventory rare and endangered plants. During the exploration, we found 62 families, 151 genera, and 231 taxa (including species, subspecies, varieties and forma). The flora of Mt. Sin-sun-bong included thirty-nine taxa as the endangered species..

    Blood rheology adjustments in rats after a program of intermittent exposure to hypobaric hypoxia

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    Esteva, Santiago, Pere Panisello, Joan Ramon Torrella, Teresa Pagés, and Ginés Viscor. Blood rheology adjustments in rats after a program of intermittent exposure to hypobaric hypoxia. High Alt. Med. Biol. 10:275-281, 2009. Intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) exposure induces a rise in hemoglobin concentration and an increase in erythrocyte mass in both rats and humans. Although this response increases blood oxygen transport capacity, paradoxically, it could impair blood flow and gas exchange because of the blood viscosity alterations associated with the rising hematocrit. In the present study, male rats were subjected to an IHH program consisting of a daily 4-h session for 5 days/week until they had completed 22 days of hypoxia exposure in a hypobaric chamber at a simulated altitude of 5000 m. Blood samples were taken at the end of the exposure period (H) and at 20 (P20) and 40 (P40) days after the end of the program and were compared to control (C) maintained at sea- level pressure. Apparent blood viscosity (ηa) and plasma viscosity (ηp) were measured in a cone-plate microviscometer. Although the hematocrit significantly increased in the H group, blood apparent viscosity did not differ among groups, ranging from 7.67 to 6.57 mPa sec at a shear rate of 90 sec−1. Relative blood viscosity showed a clear increase (about 27%) in H rats, mainly due to the significant decrease in plasma viscosity. This finding could be interpreted as a compensatory response, which reduced the effect of increased erythrocyte mass volume on whole-blood viscosity. Oxygen delivery index and blood oxygen potential transport capacity remained unchanged in all groups. These data indicate that the IHH program has a deep but transitory effect on red cell parameters and a moderate effect on blood rheological behavior

    Mt. Sir Donald and Illecillewaet Glacier, Rogers Pass

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    Mt. Sir Donald (alt. 10,600) and Illecillewaet Glacier

    On the Benthic Invertebrate Megafauna at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, in the Vicinity of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone

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    Little is known about the fauna that inhabits non-chemosynthetic environments associated with mid-ocean ridges. This thesis investigates a ridge and fracture zone system to assess its influence as a barrier to faunal dispersal, and as a unique bathyal habitat. It also describes the ecology of megabenthic communities inhabiting a ridge. Sites were chosen on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the vicinity of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, at a target depth of 2,500 m. Four superstations were chosen north and south of the Fracture Zone, on either side of the ridge. Different productivity levels and hydrographic features were characteristic for the northern and southern sites. In order to characterise the benthic megafauna 50 ha were trawled and 32,000 m2 of seafloor were sampled with HD video footage, targeting both flat and 10 ? sloped habitats. Holothurians were the most abundant megafauna. In order to assess their evolutionary relationship 43 holothurian specimens were genetically studied by modelling five of their genes (16S, 18S, 28S, COI, H3) in a phylogenetic analysis. All four sites exhibited noticeably different faunal characteristics. The biomass was highest at the SE, and lowest at the NW site. Body sizes differed between sites for most taxa, that were sufficient in numbers to be compared between sites, most likely as a result of different adaptations to food supply. Differences in species richness were observed between the sampling methods, with the highest richness at the SE site in trawl samples, and highest at the NW and SW sites in the video survey. Species densities were highest at the northern sites with both methods. Differences in diversity were also observed, with trawl samples providing a higher taxonomic resolution than the video survey and showing highest diversity at the SE site and lowest at the NE site. Community composition was significantly different between sites. Variations in the composition of megabenthic assemblages were observed between flat and 10 ? sloped habitats, although the effect of slope appears to be site dependent. The genetic analyses revealed a close relationship between individuals from different families. The extent to which the Ridge acts as a faunal barrier was unclear as the southern sites lacked an obvious difference in community composition. Faunal differences to the north and south of the Fracture Zone, however, suggest that this feature is a barrier to dispersal. The contrasting megafaunal assemblages of the sites probably reflect a combination of environmental drivers including sediment type, phytodetrital quality, hydrography, and habitat complexity
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