University of British Columbia

About: University of British Columbia is a education organization based out in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 89939 authors who have published 209679 publications receiving 9226862 citations. The organization is also known as: UBC & The University of British Columbia.

Large‐Scale Management Experiments and Learning by Doing

Abstract: Even unmanaged ecosystems are characterized by combinations of stability and instability and by unexpected shifts in behavior from both internal and external causes. That is even more true of ecosystems managed for the production of food or fiber. Data are sparse, knowledge of processes limited, and the act of management changes the system being managed. Surprise and change is inevitable. Here we review methods to develop, screen, and evaluate alternatives in a process where management itself becomes partner with science by designing probes that produce updated understanding as well as economic product. See full-text article at JSTOR

Local self-renewal can sustain CNS microglia maintenance and function throughout adult life.

Abstract: Microgliosis is a common response to multiple types of damage in the CNS. However, the origin of the cells involved in this process is still controversial and the relative importance of local expansion versus recruitment of microglia progenitors from the bloodstream is unclear. Here, we investigated the origin of microglia using chimeric animals obtained by parabiosis. We found no evidence of microglia progenitor recruitment from the circulation in denervation or CNS neurodegenerative disease, suggesting that maintenance and local expansion of microglia are solely dependent on the self-renewal of CNS resident cells in these models.

Guidelines for Management of Incidental Pulmonary Nodules Detected on CT Images: From the Fleischner Society 2017

Abstract: The Fleischner Society Guidelines for management of solid nodules were published in 2005, and separate guidelines for subsolid nodules were issued in 2013. Since then, new information has become available; therefore, the guidelines have been revised to reflect current thinking on nodule management. The revised guidelines incorporate several substantive changes that reflect current thinking on the management of small nodules. The minimum threshold size for routine follow-up has been increased, and recommended follow-up intervals are now given as a range rather than as a precise time period to give radiologists, clinicians, and patients greater discretion to accommodate individual risk factors and preferences. The guidelines for solid and subsolid nodules have been combined in one simplified table, and specific recommendations have been included for multiple nodules. These guidelines represent the consensus of the Fleischner Society, and as such, they incorporate the opinions of a multidisciplinary international group of thoracic radiologists, pulmonologists, surgeons, pathologists, and other specialists. Changes from the previous guidelines issued by the Fleischner Society are based on new data and accumulated experience. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article. An earlier incorrect version of this article appeared online. This article was corrected on March 13, 2017.

Ecological consequences of genetic diversity.

Abstract: Understanding the ecological consequences of biodiversity is a fundamental challenge. Research on a key component of biodiversity, genetic diversity, has traditionally focused on its importance in evolutionary processes, but classical studies in evolutionary biology, agronomy and conservation biology indicate that genetic diversity might also have important ecological effects. Our review of the literature reveals significant effects of genetic diversity on ecological processes such as primary productivity, population recovery from disturbance, interspecific competition, community structure, and fluxes of energy and nutrients. Thus, genetic diversity can have important ecological consequences at the population, community and ecosystem levels, and in some cases the effects are comparable in magnitude to the effects of species diversity. However, it is not clear how widely these results apply in nature, as studies to date have been biased towards manipulations of plant clonal diversity, and little is known about the relative importance of genetic diversity vs. other factors that influence ecological processes of interest. Future studies should focus not only on documenting the presence of genetic diversity effects but also on identifying underlying mechanisms and predicting when such effects are likely to occur in nature.

A mesoscale phytoplankton bloom in the polar Southern Ocean stimulated by iron fertilization

Abstract: Changes in iron supply to oceanic plankton are thought to have a significant effect on concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide by altering rates of carbon sequestration, a theory known as the 'iron hypothesis' For this reason, it is important to understand the response of pelagic biota to increased iron supply Here we report the results of a mesoscale iron fertilization experiment in the polar Southern Ocean, where the potential to sequester iron-elevated algal carbon is probably greatest Increased iron supply led to elevated phytoplankton biomass and rates of photosynthesis in surface waters, causing a large drawdown of carbon dioxide and macronutrients, and elevated dimethyl sulphide levels after 13 days This drawdown was mostly due to the proliferation of diatom stocks But downward export of biogenic carbon was not increased Moreover, satellite observations of this massive bloom 30 days later, suggest that a sufficient proportion of the added iron was retained in surface waters Our findings demonstrate that iron supply controls phytoplankton growth and community composition during summer in these polar Southern Ocean waters, but the fate of algal carbon remains unknown and depends on the interplay between the processes controlling export, remineralisation and timescales of water mass subduction