Old-growth ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests are uncommon in the Southwest, and only one old-growth forest (the Gus Pearson Natural Area [GPNA]) has been researched in the ponderosa pine belt surrounding the city of Flagstaff in northern Arizona. The purpose of this study was to measure soil characteristics, current and pre-Euro-American settlement (1885) tree structure, and understory plant composition in a 6-ha remnant old-growth forest on volcanic, red cinder soils. Soil bulk density was extremely low (0.21 Mg/m³) in this forest because of high volumetric contents of cinders >2 mm diameter. As a result, volumetric soil moisture, organic C, and total N contents were low, with June gravimetric moisture (0–15 cm) averaging <1%. Despite these seemingly inhospitable soils, the reconstructed ponderosa pine presettlement density of 183/ha is among the highest reported for northern Arizona. Current density of live presettlement-origin trees also is high (104/ha), including 36 trees/ha that established before 1700. On a 1-ha plot, the live tree age structure reconstructed for 1885 suggested that all 29 decades between 1600 and 1890 had at least one tree establish. These temporal establishment patterns are more constant than those reported at the GPNA, but do support GPNA findings of uneven-agedness within tree groups. Plant communities were dominated by mountain muhly (Muhlenbergia montana) and other species of xeric affinity. Several ecological properties at this site differed sharply from the GPNA, which occupies moist basalt soils, and the site is a member of a red cinders/Bahia ecosystem type that is among the rarest in this region.

Studies on mortality of young ungulates in arid environments usually restrict the possible causes of death to predation, starvation, or disease. However, hyperthermia as a cause of death in wild animals living in arid environments is rarely discussed or considered and might be a source of mortality in juveniles. During a two-week period after 11 July 2005, four Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) fawns (4–5 months old) died of unknown causes in a 130-ha enclosure in southern Arizona. Predation did not appear to be the cause of death. Likewise, starvation does not appear to be the cause of death because fawns did not exhibit observable signs of malnutrition prior to the period of their death. Disease also appears to be unlikely because the timing of occurrence of the vector for the two main diseases known to occur in the population (i.e., blue tongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease [EHD]) does not coincide with the fawn deaths (although this does not rule out other potential disease). Hyperthermia might have been the cause of death of the four fawns because the three hottest days of the year (44.1, 44.1, and 43.6 °C) occurred during the period the fawns died. While our evidence for hyperthermia as the cause of death is speculative, biologists should consider the possibility that young desert-dwelling ungulates may be susceptible to hyperthermia during the hottest period of the year and that it might be a source of fawn mortality that cannot be managed.

This study focuses on the distribution of arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in surface sediments at Three Kids Mine located in Henderson, Nevada. The mine is comprised of approximately 470 acres of desert and is situated above the large development of Lake Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Valleys water supply, Lake Mead. Transport of arsenic and lead appears to have occurred within a limited range in both the eastern and western washes of Three Kids Mine. Concentrations of arsenic and lead range between 200 ppm and1130 ppm and 20 ppm and 8400 ppm, respectfully, in soils collected from washes at Three Kids Mine. Samples collected from the north side of the site indicate a mixing of the natural soils which are low in arsenic and lead with milling waste from historic mining practices, which are higher in arsenic and lead concentrations. The migration of arsenic and lead apparently resulted from the transport of sediments containing these contaminants down gradient in surface runoff during storm events. Adsorption of arsenic and lead onto the surface of soil particles is postulated to be the major source of transport during wet periods for this site. As a result, transport of arsenic and lead from historic Three Kids Mine could possibly pose a threat to Lake Las Vegas and Lake Mead if a catastrophic storm event or repeated storm events were to occur within a short period of time.

Based on collections and published reports, the herpetofauna of mainland Sonora, México, includes 37 amphibian and 139 reptile species. An additional two amphibian and five reptile species have been taken very near the Sonoran border in contiguous habitats in Arizona, Chihuahua, or New Mexico, and almost certainly occur in Sonora, as well. This compares to 15 amphibian and 95 reptile species documented in the last summary of Sonora's herpetofauna, published in 1945. Five taxa have been introduced, and one species is known to have been extirpated from Sonora. Seventy-three (40%) of Sonora's amphibian and reptile species are given special status under México's Lista de Especies en Riesgo or the IUCN's Red List. Although some of the species probably do not warrant special status in Sonora, substantial threats to amphibians and reptiles in general are widespread. Sonora's sea turtles and ranid frogs are particularly imperiled. Despite these threats, there are significant opportunities for conservation, and agencies and non-governmental organizations are making good progress on several fronts to protect amphibians and reptiles, and their habitats.

This study analyzes integrated precipitable water (IPW) over Arizona southern during the months of July and August. The results show total column (up to 300 hPa) atmospheric moisture, despite illustrating success in predicting precipitation occurrence and spatial extent, does not predict precipitation occurrence, spatial extent, or amount significantly better than do simple low-level dewpoints. Yuma appears to be the exception, as IPW is much more successful in forecasting nearby precipitation occurrence and spatial extent than is low-level dewpoints.

CAPE (convective available potential energy) values are also calculated and compared to precipitation across the region. The results show that CAPE, much like IPW, shows some success predicting precipitation occurrence during the monsoon in Arizona, although it is still less than IPW. Similar to IPW, CAPE is a poor predictor of precipitation totals.

The editor has retracted the article "Benefits and costs of summer dormancy in blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima Torr.)" based on the advice of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas because the author of this article, Simon A. Lei, has admitted to data fabrication of articles similar to this one. The author was a visiting lecturer in the Education college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas at the time of the publication of this article and is no longer affiliated with the university. It is recommended that authors no longer cite this article in any work.

The Institute of Medicine revealed that about 7,000 Americans are killed each year due to medication errors. This alarming number is prompting many physicians and practitioners to change their old habits of prescribing. Now we have e-prescribing! Electronic prescribing or e-prescribing, as it is very well known now, is the use of an automated data-entry system to generate electronic prescriptions. From cell phones to huge systems, physicians are always waking up to this new reality. This method of prescribing would eventually replace the current practice in writing the prescription on a paper.

Electronic or computerized prescribing systems in the practice of medicine are a change that is belated. About 90% of prescriptions in the United States are still handwritten. Instead, medications should be ordered on an electronic platform such as a handheld device that is ultimately interacting with three databases: patient drug history, scientific drug information and guideline reference, and patient-specific data (weight, laboratory). Implementing a computerized prescribing system will have a positive impact on pharmaceutical and patients outcomes.

Medication errors are a common occurrence and continue to be a problem in the health care industry. It is estimated that the annual cost of drug-related morbidity and mortality is nearly $177 billion in the US. The FDA states that there is at least one death per day and 1.3 million people are injured each year due to medication errors.

Common causes of medication errors include incorrect diagnosis, prescribing errors, drug-drug related reactions, dose miscalculations, incorrect drug administration and lack of patient education. It is clear that if a miscommunication took place due to hand written prescription, the error will amplify in the following steps in the medication dispensing and administration process.

Depression has been implicated as an independent risk factor for the progression of coronary heart disease in patients surviving acute coronary syndromes such as heart attack. One line of such research has studied cardiac patients enrolled in Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation, in which the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is used to quantify depression. While depression clearly has a negative impact on cardiac health in these patients, currently Phase III and Phase IV Cardiac Rehabilitation patients have been largely ignored in psychosocial research. To remedy this gap, the current study sought to examine whether depression was solely a problem in problem in Phase II CR patients, or whether it was also present in Phase III and Phase IV CR patients (N=32). Patients were categorized as Low or High in depression based on BDI scores using a standard cutoff score of 10. Patients in Phase II (n=12) were compared to patients in Phase III/IV (n=20). Comparisons of depression by CR Phase revealed there were no significant differences in the prevalence of depression in Phase II (33%) versus Phase III/IV (25%), (p = .70, Fisher's exact test). CR patients. Results of this study suggest the inclusion of Phase III and Phase IV patients is warranted in future studies of depression in CR samples.

Sudden oak death (SOD), an emerging disease caused by the introduced oomycete Phytophthora ramorum, poses a serious threat to oak woodlands in the western US. Previous research has shown that foliar endophytes – fungi that live within apparently healthy leaves of plants without causing disease – can be effective as biological control agents in protecting trees against Phytophthora infection. Here, we examine the endophyte communities associated with foliage of seven oak taxa (Quercus arizonica, Q. emoryi, Q. gambelii, Q. grisea, Q. hypoleucoides, Q. rugosa, and Q. arizonica × Q. rugosa) in the Santa Rita Mountains in southeastern Arizona. In addition to providing a first description of the diverse community of endophytes associated with foliage of these healthy oaks, we compare this community with endophytes found in three other tree species in southern Arizona (Pinus ponderosa, Cupressus arizonica, and Platycladus orientalis). We show that (1) oaks in southeastern Arizona harbor endophytes that are characterized by high genotypic and phylogenetic diversity; (2) more closely related oaks do not necessarily share more endophytes than do more distantly related oaks; and (3) relative to endophytes of other trees in the same biogeographic region, oak endophytes are distinctive at both the genotype level and in terms of the major lineages of fungi they represent. These fungi, archived as living vouchers at the Robert L. Gilbertson Mycological Herbarium (ARIZ), represent a first step toward identifying the very poorly known communities of endophytes associated with plants in Arizona, and will provide the raw material for bioassays assessing endophyte-mediated biological control of Phytophthora spp.

Endosymbiosis is a pervasive feature of eukaryotic life. In many cases, endosymbionts of eukaryotes are bacteria, but growing evidence indicates that many fungi also can occur as symbionts within eukaryotic hosts. Protists represent an exceptionally diverse array of eukaryotic life, and often, many diverse lineages of protists can be recovered from single sampling sites, where they engage in a variety of ecological roles. The goal of this research project is to investigate the phylogenetic diversity of fungi living in endosymbiosis with protists. I have made progress in three areas to date: (1) assessing the diversity of fungi encountered in water samples from a freshwater pond; (2) quantifying exogenous inputs of fungal propagules into that pond; and (3) developing methods for isolating pure cultures of protists and examining their fungal associates.

Acceptance of the plant group Martyniaceae, which contains the genus Proboscidea (commonly known as devil's claws or unicorn plants), as a distinct family has long been questioned. Previously placed in the family Pedaliaceae, commonly known as the Sesame family, the Martyniaceae have been allied to numerous other families within the order Lamiales. For this study, sequences of chloroplast DNA from the ndhF and rps16 regions were used (1) to demonstrate the monophyly of the Martyniaceae and (2) to identify the closest living relative to the group. Preliminary data suggest that the Martyniaceae are distinct from the Pedaliaceae, and that the Verbenaceae, commonly known as the Verbena or Vervain family, may be the closest living relative to the family Martyniaceae. If the Martyniaceae and Verbenaceae are sister groups and most closely related to each other, then there are interesting biogeographic implications that can be suggested from the results. The Verbenaceae are primarily from arid areas of South America, which happens to be one of the centers of diversity for the family Martyniaceae. If the Verbenaceae are the most closely related group of plants to the family Martyniaceae, then it can be suggested that the Martyniaceae may have had an origin in South America, then dispersed into and diversified in North America.

Ficus carica L. (the common fig tree) is one of many non-native species adapted to home-garden systems within northern Mexico and southern Arizona. Along with other Mediterranean fruits such as grapes and olives, fig trees were introduced to the area through the Catholic mission system during the mid-1500s to the mid-1800s. Clonal descendents from the original ‘Mission’ fig trees persist in present-day home gardens. The objective of this study is to provide information critical for the conservation of heirloom ‘Mission’ fig trees in southern Arizona home gardens. One step in this process is the evaluation of the nutrients of heirloom fig fruits. The results from a preliminary nutrient study are presented in this paper. The results show that for fresh and dried heirloom fig fruit, sugar levels and vitamin A levels are statistically lower when compared to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. For fresh and dried heirloom fig fruit, potassium levels are statistically higher when compared to the USDA Database. For calcium, heirloom fresh fig fruits showed statistically higher levels and heirloom dried fig fruits showed no difference when compared to the USDA Database. More studies are required to determine the causes for this variation in fig fruit nutrient levels.