Decreased Runoff Response to Precipitation,Little Missouri River Basin,Northern Great Plains,USA

High variability in precipitation and streamflow in the semiarid northern Great Plains causes large uncertainty in water availability. This uncertainty is compounded by potential effects of future climate change. We examined historical variability in annual and growing season precipitation, temperature, and streamflow within the Little Missouri River Basin and identified differences in the runoff response to precipitation for the period 1976‐2012 compared to 1939‐1975 (n = 37 years in both cases). Computed mean values for the second half of the record showed little change (<5%) in annual or growing season precipitation, but average annual runoff at the basin outlet decreased by 22%, with 66% of the reduction in flow occurring during the growing season. Our results show a statistically significant (p < 0.10) 27% decrease in the annual runoff response to precipitation (runoff ratio). Surface‐water withdrawals for various uses appear to account for <12% of the reduction in average annual flow volume, and we found no published or reported evidence of substantial flow reduction caused by groundwater pumping in this basin. Results of our analysis suggest that increases in monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures, including >1°C increases in January through March, are the dominant driver of the observed decrease in runoff response to precipitation in the Little Missouri River Basin.     

Early prenatal ultrasonic findings in klippel—trenaunay—weber syndrome

Routine sonography prior to genetic amniocentesis revealed the presence of a large complex mass with pulsating channels over the anterior fetal chest wall. This led to early termination of pregnancy in a fetus affected with the rare Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome.     

Assessing landscape dynamics in a protected area

This article describes an approach to assessing spatial and temporal land-use and land-cover changes in and adjacent to protected areas and to the measurement of landscape stability within a protected area. Methods employed include aerial photographic interpretation and GIS technology. Odum's four-compartment ecosystem model provides the conceptual framework for assessing landscape stability. The study area is a selected sample of the Upper San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area in the high desert grassland of southeastern Arizona. Significant changes were observed in the landscape matrix and riparian ecosystem. However, when these changes were assessed in the context of Odum's model, the change was nonsignificant. Implications of the approach and potential applications in protected area management are discussed.     

Elevated pCO2 causes developmental delay in early larval Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas

Increasing atmospheric CO₂ equilibrates with surface seawater, elevating the concentration of aqueous hydrogen ions. This process, ocean acidification, is a future and contemporary concern for aquatic organisms, causing failures in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) aquaculture. This experiment determines the effect of elevated pCO₂ on the early development of C. gigas larvae from a wild Pacific Northwest population. Adults were collected from Friday Harbor, Washington, USA (48°31.7′N, 12°1.1′W) and spawned in July 2011. Larvae were exposed to Ambient (400 μatm CO₂), MidCO₂ (700 μatm), or HighCO₂ (1,000 μatm). After 24 h, a greater proportion of larvae in the HighCO₂ treatment were calcified as compared to Ambient. This unexpected observation is attributed to increased metabolic rate coupled with sufficient energy resources. Oyster larvae raised at HighCO₂ showed evidence of a developmental delay by 3 days post-fertilization, which resulted in smaller larvae that were less calcified.     

Pregnancy and postnatal outcome of mosaic isochromosome 20q

Prenatally diagnosed mosaicism for isochromosome 20q is generally reported in association with a normal outcome at birth and is rarely confirmed postnatally. However, the origin of these abnormal cells is unclear and there are few reports of long-term outcomes. We present an additional case of prenatally detected isochromosome 20q, with normal outcome up to age 3.6 years. The abnormal cells, while present at high levels in the amniotic fluid, could not be confirmed in placenta or fetal blood. Nonetheless, based on a review of the literature, the level of isochromosome 20q cells found is associated with risk of abnormal outcome, suggesting a possible effect in some cases. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-resolution array genomic hybridization in prenatal diagnosis

Array genomic hybridization (AGH) can detect chromosomal gains or losses that are 100 times smaller than those identifiable by conventional cytogenetic methods. Genome-wide AGH can identify genomic imbalance that causes birth defects and mental retardation at least twice as frequently as conventional cytogenetic analysis. Using AGH as a prenatal test for fetal genomic imbalance offers the promise of detecting pathogenic gain or loss of genomic material more quickly and much more frequently than current methods. However, the chance of finding a result of uncertain clinical significance is much greater than with conventional cytogenetic analysis, and the benefit–cost ratio of doing AGH in addition to conventional cytogenetic analysis in pregnancies at high risk for Down syndrome is likely to be poor. Very little is known about the natural history and range of clinical variability associated with most pathogenic submicroscopic copy number variants (CNVs). It seems doubtful that patients can be adequately counseled for prenatal AGH testing in most cases because the risks and benefits are unknown. At present, AGH should be offered for prenatal diagnosis only if the pregnancy is at especially high risk of having a pathogenic CNV or if AGH is being done as part of a clinical trial. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.