Yan et al suggested that GBs in CIGS electrically benign and not

Yan et al. suggested that GBs in CIGS electrically benign and not harmful to photovoltaic due to not creating deep levels [16]. On the other hand, valence band maximum at GBs

acts as hole barriers, it reduces recombination at GBs [17]. Recently, Abou-Ras et al. identified Se-Se-terminated Σ3112 twin boundaries, indicating that Cu is depleted and In is enriched in the two atomic planes next to the twin boundary by high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy VX-765 molecular weight and electron energy-loss spectroscopy [18]. Takahashi group in Japan also reported that downward band bending of the conduction band and broadening of the band gap near GBs are observed by photo-assisted Kelvin probe force microscopy. It accounts for photo-carriers well separate LY2157299 and suppress the recombination at GBs [19]. Therefore, we have to investigate carefully carrier transport at GB in CZTSSe thin films, which is not yet clearly identified for the role of GBs. We already reported positive potential bending of GBs on CZTSe thin films, grown by electron co-evaporation, which showed 2% to 3% of conversion efficiency [20]. In this study, we investigate sputtered CZTSSe thin-film solar cells, which exhibit better device performance than the previous samples. We report local carrier transport and surface potential of CZTSSe thin films using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and Kelvin

probe force microscopy (KPFM), respectively. For the complete understanding of the behaviors at GBs in CIGS films, recombination at GBs is diminished also due Lenvatinib mouse to downward band bending reduced density of deep-level in-gap states (i.e.,

recombination centers) and expect relatively efficient minority-carrier collection at GBs, as shown by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements [21, 22]. Future analysis using STM can be addressed for GBs of CZTSSe thin films. Method CZTSSe thin films were grown on Mo-coated soda-lime glass substrates. The metal precursor layers were deposited by radio frequency sputtering using Cu, ZnS and SnS targets. The staking order of the precursors in this study was Cu/SnS/ZnS/Mo/glass. Thickness of each stacked layer was changed from 0.4 to 0.7 μm. After the deposition, the precursors were annealed with Se metals in a furnace at 590°C for 20 min. Thickness of the annealed CZTSSe film was 1.8 μm for this study. From X-ray diffraction, the film shows single phase of CZTSSe without any significant second phases. We obtained the final composition is Cu/(Zn + Sn) ~ 0.94 and Zn/Sn ~ 1.65 of CZTSSe thin films by energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). S/Se ratio is estimated to be approximately 0.1. The grain size indicates 1 to 2 μm of the CZTSSe thin film investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) (JSM-700 F). KPFM and C-AFM measurements were carried out using a commercial AFM (n-Tracer, Nanofocus Inc., Seoul, South Korea).

aureus (198 human isolates and 55 animal isolates) using microarr

aureus (198 human isolates and 55 animal isolates) using microarray. Presence or absence of each gene (listed on left) in each isolate is depicted by colour. The colour is an indicator of test signal over reference signal ratio. Thus, (i) yellow indicates presence of the gene in both test strain and reference strain, (ii) red indicates presence of the gene in the test strain but not in the reference strain, (iii) blue indicates absence in the test strain but not the reference strain,

and (iv) grey indicates absence in both the test and reference strains. Genes with white signals are very low intensity and regarded as negative for both strains. The colour intensity is an indicator of signal intensity, and this can differ Selleck PLX-4720 because (i) the homology of the probe, which can be hundreds of base pairs long, and DNA may vary, and (ii) copy numbers may vary. Isolates BIBW2992 price (represented vertically) are clustered into lineages [14]. For each isolate, its mammalian host of origin and its lineage (clonal complex) are shown at the bottom of the figure. Human isolates are coloured light blue (invasive) and dark blue (carriage). Animal isolates are coloured red (cow), pink (horse), maroon (sheep and goat) and white (camel). The figure shows

that rep genes and resistance genes are distributed in a lineage dependent manner. We also assessed the distribution of other plasmid genes between S. aureus lineages. The presence of plasmid conjugation transfer (tra)A-M genes was rare amongst the S. aureus isolates in our collection and was not associated with lineage (Figure 2). Interestingly, antimicrobial resistance genes and heavy metal resistance genes were associated to lineage. arsC was common in MRSA CC22 and CC30 isolates, but rare amongst other lineages.

blaZ was common in all human lineages of S. aureus but was rare in animal lineages of S. aureus. cadA presence was associated with MRSA CC22, CC30 and CC239 lineages, whilst cadDX was widely distributed and associated with 9 different selleck compound lineages. ermA presence was associated with CC8 and CC239 lineages. qacA was associated with CC239 lineage. 2 of 9 (ble and tetM) resistance genes represented on the microarray are rare in the isolates we have analysed and were not distributed in a lineage dependent manner. We note that some of these genes may be carried on other elements or on integrated plasmids and this cannot be determined by microarray alone, for example tetM can also be carried on transposons such as Tn5801. Discussion In this study we extended a previously proposed plasmid classification system to characterise rep genes from 243 plasmids that appear in the public domain [11]. We characterised 21 rep families, of which 13 are newly described in this study. Whilst performing this analysis we noted that many plasmids carried more than one rep gene, we therefore assigned plasmids into groups based on the combination of rep genes carried.

In recent years isolates of community-associated (CA-MRSA) have b

In recent years isolates of community-associated (CA-MRSA) have been identified too [165]. The traditional antibiotic therapy for MRSA has always been glycopeptides. The widespread occurrence of MRSA induced an inevitable increase of vancomycin and teicoplanin use, causing a selective pressure to develop glycopeptides resistance so that in 1997 the first vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus

aureus (VISA) was reported and after some years the first vancomycin-resistent Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) was also documented [166]. Multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus diffusion highlights the importance of the development of new agents for the appropriate treatment of infections where highly resistant pathogens are suspected or known. buy Navitoclax The list of antimicrobial agents with activity against MRSA is short, including Quinupristin/dalfopristin, daptomycin, linezolid and tigecicline. BMN673 Recently resistances also to linezolid were identified [167]. Empiric antimicrobial against MRSA

should be provided to patients with health care-associated intra-abdominal infections who are known to be colonized with the organism or who are suspected of having an infection due to this organism because of prior treatment failure and significant antibiotic exposure [103]. Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) producing Enterobacteriaceae Over the past few years a notable increase in antibiotic resistance among Gram-negative bacteria recovered from hospitalized patients has been reported, especially in critically ill patients [168]. During the last decade, the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae has become a growing problem. In the specific context of intra-abdominal infections, resistance to β-lactams,

mediated by extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) is a particular concern [169, 170]. Acquired resistance to beta-lactams is mainly mediated by extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) that DAPT cell line confer resistance to the penicillins, first-, second-, and third-generation cephalosporins, and aztreonam, and are inhibited by b-lactamase inhibitors. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) which are encoded by genes that can be exchanged between bacteria. Beta-lactamase genes are often associated with resistance determinants to non-beta-lactam agents such as aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones, and strains producing ESBLs often exhibit complex multidrug resistant phenotypes and sometimes are panresistant [171, 172].

20-bp DNA ladder was bought from TaKaRa Bio (Dalian, China) Co ,

20-bp DNA ladder was bought from TaKaRa Bio (Dalian, China) Co., Ltd. Goat anti-human IgG-horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was from Jackson ImmunoResearch (Pennsylvania, USA), and goat anti-rabbit IgG-HRP was bought from Santa Cruz (California, USA). UltraEAL Western Blot Detection System was purchased from Shanghai Generay Biotech Co., Ltd (Shanghai, China). Protein molecular weight marker, lymphocyte

separation medium (mouse), mitomycin and CCK-8 kit were purchased from Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology (Jiangsu, China). ELISA kits for IFN-γ or IL-4 were purchased from R&D Systems (Minnesota, USA). Sera from L. interrogans, recombinant protein OmpL1- or LipL41-immunized rabbits PF-562271 cost were produced as previously described [17, 18]. Sera of leptospirosis patients were obtained from hospitals in Guangdong, Sichuan and Zhejiang Fluorouracil provinces [19]. 6-8 week old female BALB/c mice were procured from the Experimental Animal Center of Zhejiang University and raised under pathogen-free environment. All the animal experiments were approved by the institutional review board. Prediction of T and B cell epitopes The combined T and B cell epitopes were predicted based on the amino acid sequences of OmpL1 and LipL41 (GenBank accession codes AAT48511

and AAT48493). To avoid the epitopes located in the signal peptide region, SignalP 3.0 Server (http://​www.​cbs.​dtu.​dk/​services/​SignalP/​) was used to predict the signal peptides. ANTIGENIC program in EMBOSS (http://​beta.​immuneepitope.​org/​) was used to predict B cell epitopes and ProPred, a web tool useful in the prediction of HLA-DR binding sites (http://​www.​imtech.​res.​in/​raghava/​hlapred/​) [20], was used to predict potential T cell epitopes. Extraction of genomic DNA The genomic DNA of L. interrogans Lai strain Acesulfame Potassium was extracted by proteinase K treatment and phenol-chloroform extraction method as described previously [21]. The precipitated genomic DNA was resuspended in 100 μl sterilized water, 10 μl 3 M sodium acetate and 220 μl absolute alcohol and stored at -20°C. Before use, DNA was precipitated by centrifugation and was resuspended in sterilized water. Expression and purification of

epitope peptides Sequences of 4 predicted epitopes from OmpL1 and 4 from LipL41 were amplified from genomic DNA. The primers used to amplify the fragments of selected epitopes were shown in Table 1. Eco R52 I site and a 14 bp leader peptide sequence of M13KE were located at the 5′ end of each forward primer, and Kpn I was introduced at the 5′ end of reverse primer. The amplified fragments were inserted into pGEM-T easy vector for sequencing. Then each of the sequence-confirmed fragment was subcloned into Eco R52 I and Kpn I sites of the phage vector M13KE. Primers M13PF 5′-GAGATTTTCAACGTGAAAAAATTATT-3′ and M13PR 5′-TGAATTT TCTGTATGGGATTTTGCTA-3′ were designed based on the sequence of PIII gene in M13KE and were used to determine the insertions of each epitope by colony PCR.

We hope that the collection of papers in this Special Issue conve

We hope that the collection of papers in this Special Issue conveys the importance of the multi-faceted work of botanic gardens today, and inspires new collaborative initiatives with and among botanic gardens. Furthermore, we trust these papers demonstrate that even though botanic gardens as a whole are a historical institution, and many individual gardens are historical heritage sites, they are by no means relicts of the past. The botanic gardens of today are the Navitoclax custodians of invaluable repositories of plant germplasm, supporters and performers of cutting-edge basic and applied science, and crucially important in the build-up of public appreciation of plants.

In summary, botanic gardens are vital resources for the conservation of the world’s plant life, in particular in the era of climate change. Acknowledgments We thank the Editor-in-Chief, David L. Hawksworth, for agreeing to publish this Special Issue and for constructive comments on this introductory paper, Johan Kotze for invaluable editorial work, all authors for their valuable contributions, the numerous reviewers for generously providing their

time and expertise for further strengthening the papers, and the staff of the Editorial Office of Springer for swift help in a number of issues. We are grateful to all the sponsors of the congress EuroGardV (listed at www.​luomus.​fi/​eurogardv), on which selleck compound this SI is based. References Convention of Biological Diversity (2010) Conference of the parties, tenth meeting, Nagoya, Japan, 18–29 Oct 2010, Agenda item 4.7, advance unedited text, 2 Nov 2010. http://​www.​cbd.​int/​. Accessed 16 Dec 2010 Donaldson JS (2009)

Botanic gardens science for conservation and global change. Trends Plant Sci 14:608–613CrossRefPubMed Guerrant EO Jr, Havens K, Maunder M (eds) (2004) Ex situ plant conservation: supporting species survival in the wild. Island Press, Washington Hahns AK, McDonnell MJ, McCarthy MA et al (2009) A global synthesis of plant extinction rates in urban areas. Ecol Lett 12:1165–1173CrossRef Krigas N, Mouflis G, Grigoriadou K et al (2010) Conservation of important plants from the Ionian Islands at the Balkan Botanic Garden of Kroussia, N Greece: using GIS to link the Coproporphyrinogen III oxidase in situ collection data with plant propagation and ex situ cultivation. Biodivers Conserv 19:3583–3603CrossRef Lehvävirta S, Aplin D, Schulman L (eds) (2009) EuroGard V, botanic gardens in the age of climate change—programme, abstracts, and delegates. Ulmus 13:1–178 Maunder M, Higgens S, Culham A (2001) The effectiveness of botanic garden collections in supporting plant conservation: a European case study. Biodivers Conserv 10:383–401CrossRef Pitman N, Jørgensen PM (2002) Estimating the size of the world’s threatened flora.

This is because the sides of cylinder and capsule nanorods are ro

This is because the sides of cylinder and capsule nanorods are round but the side of rectangular nanorod is flat. Figure 3 Lifetime orientation check details distributions of QEs around (a, d) rectangular, (b, e) cylinder, and (c, f) capsule

gold and Si nanorods. The gold nanorods have wavelengths (a) 1,013, (b) 997, and (c) 946 nm, respectively. Four typical points are chosen: A (-70,0,0), B (-70,-10,0), C (-60,-20,0), and D (0,-20,0) nm. The lifetime orientation distributions of QEs around the rectangular, cylinder, capsule Si nanorods at wavelengths (d) 1,013, (e) 997, (f) 946 nm, respectively. As written in the Methods part, we define the anisotropy factor η to evaluate the orientation anisotropy by the ratio of the maximum lifetime over the minimum lifetime in all dipole orientations. The results of rectangular, cylinder, and capsule nanorods are shown in Table 1. The lifetime differs hundreds of times around the end of the rectangular nanorod. The orientation

anisotropy of the cylinder nanorod is much stronger than that of the rectangular nanorod. The orientation anisotropy of the capsule nanorod is the strongest, Selumetinib and the anisotropy factor reaches up to three orders of magnitude when the emitter is placed 10 nm to the end of the capsule nanorod. Table 1 Anisotropy factor η at different positions around gold nanorod   A B C D Rectangular 206 386 361 60.1 Cylinder 615 858 749 126 Capsule 1,016 837 794 137 In order to underline the effect of the localized surface plasmon, we consider dielectric nanorods with the same geometrical parameters but without plasmonic modes.

The material of the dielectric nanorod is chosen as Si with refractive index of 3.4. The orientation distributions around the rectangular, cylinder, and capsule dielectric nanorods at wavelengths 1,013, 997, Amisulpride and 946 nm are shown in Figure 3d,e,f, respectively. The green area is the cross section of the Si nanorod at z = 0 plane. We select the four typical points as before. We observe that the maximum of the color bar can be larger than 1. So in some dipole directions, the lifetimes of QEs will be longer than those of the vacuum. They are different from the lifetimes of the QE around the metallic nanorod. The anisotropy factors of the rectangular, cylinder and capsule-shaped dielectric nanorod are shown in Table 2. The lifetime differs only several times. The lifetime orientation anisotropy factors are much smaller than the metallic nanorod case. Table 2 Anisotropy factor η at different positions around Si nanorod   A B C D Rectangular 4.18 3.47 3.02 1.87 Cylinder 3.78 2.94 2.53 1.78 Capsule 2.96 2.30 2.21 1.85 In the following, we further study the detailed lifetime orientation distributions of the QE near the end of the capsule gold nanorod.

Most recently, it is proposed that the indirect band gap of bulk

Most recently, it is proposed that the indirect band gap of bulk MoS2 with a magnitude of approximately 1.2 eV transforms gradually to a direct band gap of approximately 1.8 eV in single-layer samples [8, 9], which is in contrast to pristine graphene with a band

gap of about 0 eV and few-layered h-BN with a band gap of about 5.5 eV [10, 11]. All these results imply that 2D MoS2 nanosheets have possible potential applications in electronics, optics, and semiconductor technologies as promising complements to graphene and h-BN [5–11]. Recently, based on first-principle calculations, lots of reports reveal the promising electronic properties of monolayer MoS2 nanosheets and nanoribbons, Small molecule library predicting their potential application in spintronic devices [12–15]. Calculation results indicate that MoS2-triple vacancy created in a single-layer MoS2 can give rise to a net magnetic moment, while other defects related with Mo and S atoms do not influence the nonmagnetic ground state [13]. Shidpour et al. performed the calculation on the sulfur vacancy-related magnetic properties on the S-edge with 50% and 100% coverage of MoS2 nanoribbons, showing that a vacancy on the S-edge with 50% coverage intensifies the magnetization of the edge of the MoS2 nanoribbon, but such a vacancy on the S-edge with 100%

coverage causes this magnetic property to disappear [14]. Most recently, for the MoS2 nanoribbons, Pan et al. and Li et al. predicted that S-terminated zigzag nanoribbons are the most stable even without hydrogen saturation.

PLX4032 MoS2 zigzag nanoribbons are metallic and ferromagnetic, and their conductivity may be semiconducting or half metallic by controlling the edge structures saturated with H atoms. The armchair nanoribbons are semiconducting and nonmagnetic, Baf-A1 with band gaps increased by the hydrogen saturation of their edge states [15, 16]. Inconsequently, Botello-Mendez et al. found that armchair nanoribbons could be metallic and exhibit a magnetic moment. Besides, when passivating with hydrogen, the armchair nanoribbons become semiconducting [17]. Though a lot of interesting magnetic properties of MoS2 nanosheets and nanoribbons had been predicted, the corresponding experimental realization on MoS2 nanosheets and nanoribbons has been at the nascent stage. The reason may be the difficulties in the synthesis methods because MoS2 tends to form zero-dimensional closed structures (fullerene-like nanoparticles) or one-dimensional nanotube structures during the experimental fabrications as well as lower crystalline structures [18–20]. What we know so far, the only experimental report on magnetism in MoS2 came from a study on MoS2 nanosheet film deposition on Si (100) and tantalum foil substrates synthesized using thermal evaporation method.

Circulation 2007,116(2):188–195 PubMedCrossRef 35 Liu TH, Wu CL,

Circulation 2007,116(2):188–195.PubMedCrossRef 35. Liu TH, Wu CL, Chiang CW, Lo Fostamatinib solubility dmso YW, Tseng HF, Chang CK: No effect of short-term arginine supplementation on nitric oxide production, metabolism and performance in intermittent exercise in athletes. J Nutr Biochem 2009,20(6):462–468.PubMedCrossRef 36. Beckman JS, Koppenol WH: Nitric oxide, superoxide, and peroxynitrite: the good, the bad, and ugly. Am J Physiol 1996,271(5 Pt 1):C1424–37.PubMed 37. Wink DA, Miranda KM,

Espey MG: Cytotoxicity related to oxidative and nitrosative stress by nitric oxide. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2001,226(7):621–623. 38. Joyner MJ, Casey DP: The catecholamines strike back. What NO does not do. Circ J 2009,73(10):1783–1792.PubMedCrossRef 39. Trojian TH, Beedie CJ: Placebo effect and athletes. Curr Sports Med Rep 2008,7(4):214–217.PubMed 40. Bloomer RJ, Smith WA, Fisher-Wellman KH: Oxidative Buparlisib stress in response to forearm ischemia-reperfusion with and without carnitine administration. Int J Vitam Nutr Res, in press. 41. Ganio MS, Klau JF, Casa DJ, Armstrong LE, Maresh CM: Effect of caffeine on sport-specific endurance performance: a systematic review. J Strength Cond Res 2009,23(1):315–324.PubMedCrossRef 42. Hadjicharalambous M, Kilduff LP, Pitsiladis YP: Brain serotonin and dopamine modulators,

perceptual responses and endurance performance during exercise in the heat following creatine supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2008, 5:14.PubMedCrossRef Competing interests RJB has been the Principal Investigator on research grants funded by Sigma-Tau HealthScience since 2005. He has also received research funding Baricitinib or acted as consultant to other nutraceutical and dietary supplement companies including Mannatech, OmniActive Health Technologies,

Kaneka Nutrients, Danisco, Minami Nutrition, Jarrow Formulas, National Safety Associates, Vital Pharmaceuticals, Champion Nutrition, Experimental and Applied Sciences, Purus Labs, and CE-Bio. All other authors declare no competing interests. Authors’ contributions RJB was responsible for the study design, overseeing data collection, performance of biochemical assays, statistical analysis, and preparation of the manuscript. TMF, JFT, CGM, and REC were responsible for data collection/entry and assistance with manuscript preparation. BKS was responsible for the study design and assistance with manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Introduction Judo is an Olympic sport practiced all over the world. Some studies reported that judo athletes present highly developed strength, anaerobic power and capacity, aerobic power, flexibility and low levels of body fat [1].

ALS3 and

ALS3 and Romidepsin HWP1 were also highly overexpressed in the in vivo model, which is not surprising as hyphae are the predominant form in biofilms grown in this model system [32]. Previous research demonstrated that members of the SAP gene family are expressed in biofilms associated with mucosal surfaces [24]. To investigate whether SAP genes are also highly expressed in biofilms associated with abiotic surfaces, the expression of each

SAP gene was quantified in the various biofilm model systems. All SAP genes (except SAP3) were upregulated in the vitro and in vivomodels, supporting recent findings that sessile C. albicans cells associated with abiotic surfaces secrete more aspartyl proteases than planktonic cells [39]. In the RHE model, we also observed an overexpression of all SAP genes, except SAP3. When comparing the fold expression of BTK inhibitor SAP genes between the various model systems, we found that the expression levels of SAP9 and SAP10 were similar in all model systems, while for other SAP genes model-dependent expression levels were observed. The expression levels of SAP1 were more pronounced in both in vitro models, while those of SAP2, SAP4 and SAP6 were higher in the in vivo model. The expression levels of SAP3 were rather erratic in both in vitro models, and no considerable overexpression of this gene

was found in the in vivo and RHE models. Furthermore, the expression ifenprodil levels of SAP5 were more pronounced in the in vivo model and also in the RHE model at later time points (from 12 h up to 48 h). In in vitro grown biofilms, SAP1, SAP2, SAP4 and SAP6 in particular are highly upregulated.

It is known that the main function of Saps is to degrade proteins [9], but they were also found to play a role in cell-cell adhesion [40]. Hence, it is possible that Saps are important for adhesion and nutrient acquisition in in vitro grown biofilms, although this hypothesis requires further investigation. Furthermore, SAP2, SAP4, SAP5 and SAP6 were highly overexpressed in in vivo grown biofilms, while only SAP5 was highly upregulated in the RHE model. Recently, it was shown that SAP5 is the only gene that is upregulated as infection of the RHE progressed [24], and our findings are in agreement with this observation. Like Naglik et al. [24], we found no correlation between the expression of other SAP genes and LDH activity, indicating that only SAP5 may contribute to tissue damage in the RHE model. However, it was recently demonstrated that aspartyl proteases (including Sap5) are not required for invasion of the RHE [41], and this questions the role of Sap proteins in biofilms grown in the RHE model. It would be interesting to investigate whether the high expression of SAP2, SAP4, SAP5 and SAP6 in the in vivo model is associated with tissue damage of rats.

In Central Pacific atolls (e g , Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islan

In Central Pacific atolls (e.g., Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands), shells of large benthic foraminifera are the primary components of sand-sized sediments (Collen and Garton 2004; Yamano et al. 2005). Thus, corals and foraminifera are two major sand producers. Coral reefs on the ocean side act as a natural breakwater and provide bioclastic see more materials.

If a coral reef is healthy without receiving adverse impacts such as rising acidity of seawater, it has an upward growth potential of as much as 400 mm/100 years, which matches the median predicted value of sea-level rise. Thus, a healthy coral reef has the potential to keep up with rising sea level (Kayanne et al. 2005). Recent studies have suggested that reef islands and adjacent coral reefs located near densely populated areas are being affected by wastewater discharge and waste disposal (Abraham et al. 2004; Richmond et al. 2002; Vieux et al. 2004). The main islands of atoll nations are densely populated (e.g., 8,300 people/km2 on Fongafale, Tuvalu; 2,558 people/km2 on South Tarawa, Kiribati and 11,724 people/km2 on Majuro, Marshall

Aloxistatin order Islands) (Secretariat of the Pacific Community 2005, 2007; Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office 2007) owing to limited habitable areas. Concentrations of nutrients were high in reef-flat seawater near densely populated islands, resulting in both direct and indirect negative effects on foraminifera through habitat changes and/or the

collapse of algal symbiosis (Osawa et al. 2010). Such reduced water quality on coral reefs caused changes in benthic foraminiferal communities (Hallock et al. 2003; Uthicke and Nobes 2008; Carilli and Walsh 2012). Large benthic foraminifera were rare or absent in the ocean reef flat of Majuro Atoll (Fujita et al. 2009), in lagoons and ocean reef flats of the south Tarawa Atoll (Ebrahim 2000) and in the vicinity of wastewater outfalls on Enewetak Atoll (Hirshfield et al. 1968). The decrease in sediment supply has the potential to contribute to increased coastal erosion (Collen and Garton 2004); however, the mechanisms causing such high nutrient Astemizole concentrations are as yet unknown. Reef islands and their populations are considered vulnerable to a range of climatic changes including sea-level rise and similar extreme occurrences (Mimura et al. 2007). The most anticipated physical impacts of sea-level rise on reef islands are shoreline erosion, inundation, flooding, salinity intrusion and reduced resilience of the coastal ecosystem (Khan et al. 2002; Leatherman 1997; Mimura 1999; Yamano et al. 2007). If the atoll nations disappear, there will be no islands left and nothing to inhabit (Connell 2004). Considering the above studies, a degradation of coral reefs and a decline in large benthic foraminifera, caused by anthropogenic impacts, will accelerate the onset of serious problems that may be caused by future sea-level rise.