Darren Glass, Associate Professor of Mathematics

In this new Next Page column, Darren Glass, Associate Professor of Mathematics, shares where he discovers new fiction to read (it includes a tournament and a live rooster!) and which work of foodie fiction he considers to be the gold standard

Amy Dailey, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences

In this next edition of Next Page, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Amy Dailey shares with us which article she recommends to students for a better understanding of the health care crisis in America along with her mild fascination with dystopian literature and books about mammograms

The Phytogeographical Significance of Some Rare Plants at Back Bay

The Back Bay region has long been recognized for its many species which reach either their northern or southern limits there. The eminent Harvard botanist M.L. Fernald collected extensively in the Back Bay region during the late 1930\u27s and early 1940\u27s. He postulated the Back Bay area provided a unique opportunity for the migration of fresh and brackish water species through a series of interconnected or neighboring marshes and pools. His collections document the presence of several species which we now consider extirpated. Of especial interest are genera with vicarious species pairs, that is, one area of overlap between wide-ranging species and southern species is at Back Bay. We present information on two such pairs: Lilaeopsis carolinensisand Lilaeopsis chinensis (wide-ranging); and Lippia nodiflora (southern) and Lippia lanceolata (wide-ranging). In addition we discuss species which reach their northern or southern limits at Back Bay. Examples include: Limosella subulata (Scrophulariaceae), a northern species which apparently has been extirpated, and Juncus megacephalus (Juncaceae), an endemic of the southeastern United States which is abundant near its northern limit at Back Bay

A Biochemical Nickel(I) State Supports Nucleophilic Alkyl Addition: A Roadmap for Methyl Reactivity in Acetyl Coenzyme A Synthase

Nickel-containing enzymes such as methyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR) and carbon monoxide dehydrogenase/acetyl coenzyme A synthase (CODH/ACS) play a critical role in global energy conversion reactions, with significant contributions to carbon-centered processes. These enzymes are implied to cycle through a series of nickel-based organometallic intermediates during catalysis, though identification of these intermediates remains challenging. In this work, we have developed and characterized a nickel-containing metalloprotein that models the methyl-bound organometallic intermediates proposed in the native enzymes. Using a nickel(I)-substituted azurin mutant, we demonstrate that alkyl binding occurs via nucleophilic addition of methyl iodide as a methyl donor. The paramagnetic NiIII-CH3 species initially generated can be rapidly reduced to a high-spin NiII-CH3 species in the presence of exogenous reducing agent, following a reaction sequence analogous to that proposed for ACS. These two distinct bioorganometallic species have been characterized by optical, EPR, XAS, and MCD spectroscopy, and the overall mechanism describing methyl reactivity with nickel azurin has been quantitatively modeled using global kinetic simulations. A comparison between the nickel azurin protein system and existing ACS model compounds is presented. NiIII-CH3 Az is only the second example of two-electron addition of methyl iodide to a NiI center to give an isolable species and the first to be formed in a biologically relevant system. These results highlight the divergent reactivity of nickel across the two intermediates, with implications for likely reaction mechanisms and catalytically relevant states in the native ACS enzyme

Effects of Snow Water Storage on Hydrologic Partitioning Across the Mountainous, Western United States

In the montane western United States, where the majority of downstream water resources are derived from snowmelt, a warming climate threatens the timing and amount of future water availability. It is expected that the fraction of precipitation falling as snow will continue decreasing and the timing of snowmelt will continue shifting earlier in the year with unknown impacts on partitioning between evapotranspiration and streamflow. To assess this, we employ a Snow Storage Index (SSI) to represent the annual temporal phase difference between daily precipitation and daily modeled surface water inputs (SWI, the sum of rainfall and snowmelt), weighted by the respective amounts. We coupled the SSI metric with a Budyko-based framework to determine the effect of snow water storage on relative hydrologic partitioning across snow-influenced watersheds in the western U.S. Greater snow water storage was positively correlated with greater hydrologic partitioning to streamflow, particularly in the North Cascades/Cascades (r2: 0.62), Blue Mountains (r2: 0.56), Canadian Rockies (r2: 0.55), Idaho Batholith, (r2: 0.48), and Columbia Mountains/Northern Rockies (r2: 0.45). The weekly SWI:P ratio was an equally strong predictor for hydrologic partitioning, particularly in mid-spring (e.g., March/April) in the same mountainous areas (r2: 0.62&ndash;0.74, across the same eco-regions). The retention of snow water storage and subsequent release of stored water in summer months resulted in increased hydrologic partitioning to streamflow. If SSI decreases with future warming, the volume of water partitioned streamflow will decrease non-uniformly across the western U.S. with substantial implications for ecosystems and agricultural, industrial, and domestic water supplies. &nbsp;</p

1994 turfgrass research report

Moss control on bentgrass greens evaluation / Jill Taylor -- Preemergent spotted spurge broadleaf weed control evaluation / William Pound and Renee Stewart -- Finale/Roundup herbicide demonstration evaluation / William Pound and Renee Stewart -- Turflon solvent evaluation / William Pound and Renee Stewart -- General turfgrass broadleaf weed control evaluation / William Pound and Renee Stewart -- Postemergence herbicide efficacy on crabgrass / John Street and Renee Stewart -- Preemergence herbicide efficacy on crabgrass / John Street, Jill Taylor and Renee Stewart -- Leaf spot control study / Joe Rimelspach, Karl Danneberger and Jill Taylor -- Dollar spot control study / Karl Danneberger, Joe Rimelspach and Jill Taylor -- Brown patch control study / Karl Danneberger, Joe Rimelspach and Jill Taylor -- Anthracnose control study / Karl Danneberger, Joe Rimelspach and Jill Taylor -- Summer patch control study / Joe Rimelspach, Karl Danneberger and Jill Taylor -- Yellow tuft control study / Karl Danneberger, Joe Rimelspach and Jill Taylor -- Red thread control study, Columbus / Joe Rimelspach, Karl Danneberger and Jill Taylor -- Red thread control study, Delaware / Joe Rimelspach, Bobby Joyner, Joe Green and Jerry Sullivan -- Susceptibility of bentgrass cultivars to Fore+ Aliette combinations / Karl Danneberger and Jill Taylor -- Suppression of turf diseases with biocontrol agent fortified compost-amended topdressings / Marcella Grebus, Carol Musselman, Joe Rimelspach and Harry Hoitink -- Evaluation of fungicides for resistance to dollar spot (Sclerotinia homoecmpa) on creeping bentgrass / Joe Rimelspach, Jill Taylor and Karl Danneberger -- Application of an insect growth regulator and insecticide on baits for control of ant mounds in turfgrass / David Shetlar, Harry Niemczyk and Kevin Power -- Application of insecticides for control of black turfgrass ataenius larvae in turfgrass / David Shetlar, Harry Niemczyk and Kevin Power -- Evaluation of biorationals and biologicals for control of black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel) and sod webworm (Pyralidae, Crambinae) larvae in bentgrass, 1994 / David Shetlar, Harry Niemczyk and Kevin Power -- Evaluation of pyrethroids and other insecticides for control of black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel) and sod webworm (Pyralidae, Crambinae) larvae in bentgrass, 1994 / David Shetlar, Harry Niemczyk and Kevin Power -- Surface and subsurface applied insecticides for control of white grubs in turfgrass / David Shetlar, Harry Niemczyk and Kevin Power -- Influence of application time on the efficacy of insect growth regulators for control of white grubs in turfgrass / David Shetlar, Harry Niemczyk and Kevin Power -- Subsurface placement of controlled release chlorpyrifos granules for extended control of Japanese beetle larvae in turfgrass: third report / Harry Niemczyk and David Shetlar -- Evaluation of Turplex 3 % EC for control of black cutworm larvae on the greens of Shadow Creek Golf Course, N. Las Vegas, Nevada / Harry Niemczyk -- Nitrogen Source and Rate effect on Kentucky bluegrass / John Street and Renee Stewart -- Polymer-coated nitrogen source effect on Kentucky bluegrass / John Street and Renee Stewart -- Evaluation of turfgrass species and cultivars for shade / Jill Taylor -- Regional low input sustainable turf study / Jill Taylor -- 1990 NTEP perennial ryegrass test / Jill Taylor -- 1994 NTEP perennial ryegrass test / Jill Taylor -- 1993 NTEP bentgrass test (fairway/tee) / Jill Taylor -- 1993 NTEP fineleaf fescue test / Jill Taylor -- Bermudagrass management study / John Street and Jill Taylor -- Duration of rolling as measured by ball roll / Karl Danneberger, Jill Taylor and Jobin Morrow -- Golf ball roll as influenced by soft spike and traditional metal spike golf shoes / Karl Danneberger and Jobin Morrow -- Primo/Banner interaction study / Bill Pound, Renee Stewart and Joe Rimelspach -- Primo growth regulator evaluation on creeping bentgrass / William Pound and Renee Stewart -- Restriction of arbitrary amplification fragments of Poa annua L. / Patty Sweeney and Karl Danneberge

Indirect Regulation of Environmental Hazards Through the Provision of Information to The Public: The Case of SARA, Title III

Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 seeks to reduce the risks of chemical accidents through a strategy of indirect regulation that relies on providing the public with information about chemical hazards. For this strategy to be effective, citizens must aggressively utilize the information provided to monitor industrial practices and press for risk reduction. Since prior research suggests it is very difficult to evoke the degree of citizen action that would be required to make a strategy of indirect regulation successful, and since the federal legislation provided no funds for implementation, there is a question o/whether the structures set up by Title III are sufficient to achieve its objectives. This article reports the results of a national study that examined selected aspects of the implementation of Title III in an effort to assess the likely outcome of its attempt at indirect regulation. Our focus is on the degree to which the Title Ill-mandated Local Emergency Planning Committees are pursuing policies that are likely to get the necessary information to citizens and foster community debate on hazardous materials issues

Laser vision : lidar as a transformative tool to advance critical zone science

© The Author(s), 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 19 (2015): 2881-2897, doi:10.5194/hess-19-2881-2015.Observation and quantification of the Earth's surface is undergoing a revolutionary change due to the increased spatial resolution and extent afforded by light detection and ranging (lidar) technology. As a consequence, lidar-derived information has led to fundamental discoveries within the individual disciplines of geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology. These disciplines form the cornerstones of critical zone (CZ) science, where researchers study how interactions among the geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere shape and maintain the "zone of life", which extends from the top of unweathered bedrock to the top of the vegetation canopy. Fundamental to CZ science is the development of transdisciplinary theories and tools that transcend disciplines and inform other's work, capture new levels of complexity, and create new intellectual outcomes and spaces. Researchers are just beginning to use lidar data sets to answer synergistic, transdisciplinary questions in CZ science, such as how CZ processes co-evolve over long timescales and interact over shorter timescales to create thresholds, shifts in states and fluxes of water, energy, and carbon. The objective of this review is to elucidate the transformative potential of lidar for CZ science to simultaneously allow for quantification of topographic, vegetative, and hydrological processes. A review of 147 peer-reviewed lidar studies highlights a lack of lidar applications for CZ studies as 38 % of the studies were focused in geomorphology, 18 % in hydrology, 32 % in ecology, and the remaining 12 % had an interdisciplinary focus. A handful of exemplar transdisciplinary studies demonstrate lidar data sets that are well-integrated with other observations can lead to fundamental advances in CZ science, such as identification of feedbacks between hydrological and ecological processes over hillslope scales and the synergistic co-evolution of landscape-scale CZ structure due to interactions amongst carbon, energy, and water cycles. We propose that using lidar to its full potential will require numerous advances, including new and more powerful open-source processing tools, exploiting new lidar acquisition technologies, and improved integration with physically based models and complementary in situ and remote-sensing observations. We provide a 5-year vision that advocates for the expanded use of lidar data sets and highlights subsequent potential to advance the state of CZ science.The workshop forming the impetus for this paper was funded by the National Science Foundation (EAR 1406031). Additional funding for the workshop and planning was provided to S. W. Lyon by the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT grant no. 2013-5261). A. A. Harpold was supported by an NSF fellowship (EAR 1144894)

Protective role of vitamin B6 (PLP) against DNA damage in Drosophila models of type 2 diabetes

Growing evidence shows that improper intake of vitamin B6 increases cancer risk and several studies indicate that diabetic patients have a higher risk of developing tumors. We previously demonstrated that in Drosophila the deficiency of Pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PLP), the active form of vitamin B6, causes chromosome aberrations (CABs), one of cancer prerequisites, and increases hemolymph glucose content. Starting from these data we asked if it was possible to provide a link between the aforementioned studies. Thus, we tested the effect of low PLP levels on DNA integrity in diabetic cells. To this aim we generated two Drosophila models of type 2 diabetes, the first by impairing insulin signaling and the second by rearing flies in high sugar diet. We showed that glucose treatment induced CABs in diabetic individuals but not in controls. More interestingly, PLP deficiency caused high frequencies of CABs in both diabetic models demonstrating that hyperglycemia, combined to reduced PLP level, impairs DNA integrity. PLP-depleted diabetic cells accumulated Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) that largely contribute to CABs as α-lipoic acid, an AGE inhibitor, rescued not only AGEs but also CABs. These data, extrapolated to humans, indicate that low PLP levels, impacting on DNA integrity, may be considered one of the possible links between diabetes and cancer