Think globally, measure locally: The MIREN standardized protocol for monitoring plant species distributions along elevation gradients

Climate change and other global change drivers threaten plant diversity in mountains worldwide. A widely documented response to such environmental modifications is for plant species to change their elevational ranges. Range shifts are often idiosyncratic and difficult to generalize, partly due to variation in sampling methods. There is thus a need for a standardized monitoring strategy that can be applied across mountain regions to assess distribution changes and community turnover of native and non‐native plant species over space and time. Here, we present a conceptually intuitive and standardized protocol developed by the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) to systematically quantify global patterns of native and non‐native species distributions along elevation gradients and shifts arising from interactive effects of climate change and human disturbance. Usually repeated every five years, surveys consist of 20 sample sites located at equal elevation increments along three replicate roads per sampling region. At each site, three plots extend from the side of a mountain road into surrounding natural vegetation. The protocol has been successfully used in 18 regions worldwide from 2007 to present. Analyses of one point in time already generated some salient results, and revealed region‐specific elevational patterns of native plant species richness, but a globally consistent elevational decline in non‐native species richness. Non‐native plants were also more abundant directly adjacent to road edges, suggesting that disturbed roadsides serve as a vector for invasions into mountains. From the upcoming analyses of time series, even more exciting results can be expected, especially about range shifts. Implementing the protocol in more mountain regions globally would help to generate a more complete picture of how global change alters species distributions. This would inform conservation policy in mountain ecosystems, where some conservation policies remain poorly implemented.

[Carbomers and their use in pharmaceutical technology]

Carbomers, high-molecular polymers based on acrylic acid, are employed in the technology of drugs as auxiliary substances acting as emulsifiers, gel-forming substances, stabilizers of suspensions, and binders in tablets. Their properties are utilized to control release as well as to improve biological availability of drugs. They are physiologically inert, non-sensitizing, and possess excellent thermal stability. They are used for various routes of administration: topical, oral and peroral, vaginal and rectal.

The use of some hydrophobic substances in tablet technology

The objective of this work is to continue in a study of utilization of synthetic triacylglycerides of higher aliphatic acids as additives improving the flow properties of granulates and reducing die friction in the tabletting press. These effects are not supposed to interfere with the drug liberation velocity. We have evaluated the effects of the synthetic triacylglycerides in theophylline containing model tablets using magnesium stearate as the reference standard. Magnesium stearate is the lubricant of choice in the production, found in up to 80% of all industrially produced tablets.

[Drug forms for drug delivery into the gastrointestinal tract]

Most drugs introduced into the GIT are absorbed into the stomach and/or the small intestine according to their chemical character. Some drugs (their number is on the increase) require targeted supply to a certain site in the GIT if their biological activity is to be manifested and made use of. Fulfilling this condition, which concerns primarily peptides and proteins, requires adjustments of dosage forms. Much effort is put forth to shift absorption into the large intestine (colon), which is advantageous from the viewpoint of circadian biorhythms.