A SURVEY COMPARISON OF PEST CONTROL AND NUISANCE WILDLIFE CONTROL OPERATORS IN KENTUCKY

A variety of factors including increased urbanization decreased funding for governmental animal damage programs, and increases in some urban wildlife populations have resulted in a greater demand for urban nuisance wildlife control. Historically, this demand was met by Cooperative Extension Service (San Julian 1987), state fish and wildlife agency, or federal wildlife damage control employees (Bollengier 1981) These agencies provided educational materials, consultations, an-or physically removed animals. Recently, there is an increased demand for physical animal removal evidenced by increasing numbers of private Pest control operators (PCO), companies that do general pest or insect control work, specializing in the removal of urban nuisance wildlife (Braband and Clark 1992). These individuals or companies are referred to as nuisance wildlife control operators (NWCO). A third group of companies, nuisance wildlife and pest control companies (NWPCO) do not specialize in nuisance wildlife control but will respond to customer complaints that involve at least one wildlife species excluding domestic cats (Felis domesticus), house mice (Mus musculus) or rats (Rattus spp.). Previous animal damage survey research focused on the magnitude and distribution of wildlife damage, stakeholders’ tolerance levels, and management preferences for solving human wildlife conflicts (Pomerantz et al. 1986). Much of this research has been directed towards rural landowner attitudes concerning deer (Odocoileus spp.), goose (Branta spp.), beaver for (Castor canadensis), black bear (Ursus americanus) or coyote (Canis latrans) damage (reviewed by Craven et al. 1992). Little detailed information exists about the urban nuisance wildlife control industry. One recent study (Associated Market Research 1991) examined the extent of PCO involvement in nuisance wildlife control but did not obtain detailed information about specific attributes of the NWCO business. These results may be unreliable because of a low (18%) response rate. My objectives were to determine 1) the status of the nuisance wildlife control industry in Kentucky, 2) the technical training of NWCO, and 3) the techniques used by NWCO LA prevent, control, or manage urban nuisance wildlife

NMR characterization of spin-1/2 alternating antiferromagnetic chains in the high-pressure phase of (VO)2P2O7

Local-susceptibility measurements via the NMR shifts of $^{31}$P and $^{51}$V nuclei in the high-pressure phase of (VO)$_{2}$P$_{2}$O$_{7}$ confirmed the existence of a unique alternating antiferromagnetic chain with a zero-field spin gap of 34 K. The $^{31}$P nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate scales with the uniform spin susceptibility below about 15 K which shows that the temperature dependence of both the static and dynamical spin susceptibilities becomes identical at temperatures not far below the spin-gap energy.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; To be published in J. Phys. Condens. Matte

Formation of Sub-galactic Clouds under UV Background Radiation

The effects of the UV background radiation on the formation of sub-galactic clouds are studied by means of one-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. The radiative transfer of the ionizing photons due to the absorption by HI, HeI and HeII, neglecting the emission, is explicitly taken into account. We find that the complete suppression of collapse occurs for the clouds with circular velocities typically in the range V_c \sim 15-40 km/s and the 50% reduction in the cooled gas mass with V_c \sim 20-55 km/s. These values depend most sensitively on the collapse epoch of the cloud, the shape of the UV spectrum, and the evolution of the UV intensity. Compared to the optically thin case, previously investigated by Thoul & Weinberg (1996), the absorption of the external UV photon by the intervening medium systematically lowers the above threshold values by \Delta V_c \sim 5 km/s. Whether the gas can contract or keeps expanding is roughly determined by the balance between the gravitational force and the thermal pressure gradient when it is maximally exposed to the external UV flux. Based on our simulation results, we discuss a number of implications on galaxy formation, cosmic star formation history, and the observations of quasar absorption lines. In Appendix, we derive analytical formulae for the photoionization coefficients and heating rates, which incorporate the frequency/direction-dependent transfer of external photons.Comment: 38 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Modifying the surface electronic properties of YBa2Cu3O7-delta with cryogenic scanning probe microscopy

We report the results of a cryogenic study of the modification of YBa2Cu3O7-delta surface electronic properties with the probe of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). A negative voltage applied to the sample during STM tunneling is found to modify locally the conductance of the native degraded surface layer. When the degraded layer is removed by etching, the effect disappears. An additional surface effect is identified using Scanning Kelvin Probe Microscopy in combination with STM. We observe reversible surface charging for both etched and unetched samples, indicating the presence of a defect layer even on a surface never exposed to air.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Superconductor Science and Technolog

Heat and the planning system: how can local authorities encourage deployment of low and zero-carbon heating?

There is widespread recognition of the need for new homes to feature only low or zero-carbon (LZC) heating. However, residential developers continue to choose conventional high-carbon options such as natural gas boilers over net-zero compatible alternatives. This study explores how UK local authorities (LAs) within the English planning system can encourage residential developers to deploy LZC heating systems within their projects. We adopt an embedded case study design and analyse 30 residential project proposals within two LA areas. Our study examines local planning policies and interactions between developers and LA officers, along with the resultant outcomes, through documentary analysis and expert interviews with local stakeholders. We find that LAs can encourage developers to adopt LZC heating technologies above and beyond what is required nationally. The conditions for this to occur are (1) a planning policy which restricts allowable heating technology options, (2) empowering LA officers to enforce policies, (3) advice and support for developers to consider alternatives, and where necessary, (4) political backing to challenge unwilling developers. Study findings highlight the important role of LAs in creating the conditions for the transition to LZC heating, which show how they can use powers within the planning system to encourage developers to make low carbon choices without the need for direct investment

Metagenomics reveals our incomplete knowledge of global diversity

Financial support was provided by projects BFU2006-06003 from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) and GV/2007/050 from the Generalitat Valenciana, Spain. J.T. is a recipient of a contract in the FIS Program from ISCIII, Spanish Ministry of Health.Pignatelli, M.; Aparicio Pla, G.; Blanquer Espert, I.; Hernández García, V.; Moya, A.; Tamames, J. (2008). Metagenomics reveals our incomplete knowledge of global diversity. Bioinformatics. 24(18):2124-2125. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btn355S212421252418Koski, L. B., & Golding, G. B. (2001). The Closest BLAST Hit Is Often Not the Nearest Neighbor. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 52(6), 540-542. doi:10.1007/s002390010184Krause, L., Diaz, N. N., Goesmann, A., Kelley, S., Nattkemper, T. W., Rohwer, F., … Stoye, J. (2008). Phylogenetic classification of short environmental DNA fragments. Nucleic Acids Research, 36(7), 2230-2239. doi:10.1093/nar/gkn038Mavromatis, K., Ivanova, N., Barry, K., Shapiro, H., Goltsman, E., McHardy, A. C., … Kyrpides, N. C. (2007). Use of simulated data sets to evaluate the fidelity of metagenomic processing methods. Nature Methods, 4(6), 495-500. doi:10.1038/nmeth1043Tamames, J., & Moya, A. (2008). Estimating the extent of horizontal gene transfer in metagenomic sequences. BMC Genomics, 9(1), 136. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-9-136Tringe, S. G. (2005). Comparative Metagenomics of Microbial Communities. Science, 308(5721), 554-557. doi:10.1126/science.1107851Tringe, S. G., Zhang, T., Liu, X., Yu, Y., Lee, W. H., Yap, J., … Ruan, Y. (2008). The Airborne Metagenome in an Indoor Urban Environment. PLoS ONE, 3(4), e1862. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001862COLE, F. N. (1900). AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY. Science, 11(263), 66-67. doi:10.1126/science.11.263.6

Culture-independent molecular analysis of bacterial diversity in uranium-ore/-mine waste-contaminated and non-contaminated sites from uranium mines

Soil, water and sediment samples collected from in and around Jaduguda, Bagjata and Turamdih mines were analyzed for physicochemical parameters and cultured, and yet to be cultured microbial diversity. Culturable fraction of microbial community measured as Colony Forming Unit (CFU) on R2A medium revealed microbes between 104 and 109 CFU/g sample. Community DNA was extracted from all the samples; 16S rRNA gene amplified, cloned and subject to Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis. Clones representing each OTU were selected and sequenced. Sequence analyses revealed that non-contaminated samples were mostly represented by Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria (β-, γ-, and/or δ-subdivisions) along with less frequent phyla Nitrospira, Deferribacteres, Chloroflexi. In contrast, samples obtained from highly contaminated samples showed distinct abundance of β-,γ- and α-Proteobacteria along with Acidobacteria,Bacteroidetes and members of Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Candidate division, Planctomycete, Cyanobacteria and Actinobacteria as minor groups. Our data represented the baseline information on bacterial community composition within non-contaminated samples which could potentially be useful for assessing the impact of metal and radionuclides contamination due to uranium mine activities

Pyrosequencing-Based Assessment of Bacterial Community Structure Along Different Management Types in German Forest and Grassland Soils

BACKGROUND: Soil bacteria are important drivers for nearly all biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial ecosystems and participate in most nutrient transformations in soil. In contrast to the importance of soil bacteria for ecosystem functioning, we understand little how different management types affect the soil bacterial community composition. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used pyrosequencing-based analysis of the V2-V3 16S rRNA gene region to identify changes in bacterial diversity and community structure in nine forest and nine grassland soils from the Schwäbische Alb that covered six different management types. The dataset comprised 598,962 sequences that were affiliated to the domain Bacteria. The number of classified sequences per sample ranged from 23,515 to 39,259. Bacterial diversity was more phylum rich in grassland soils than in forest soils. The dominant taxonomic groups across all samples (>1% of all sequences) were Acidobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Firmicutes. Significant variations in relative abundances of bacterial phyla and proteobacterial classes, including Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia, Cyanobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Alphaproteobacteria, between the land use types forest and grassland were observed. At the genus level, significant differences were also recorded for the dominant genera Phenylobacter, Bacillus, Kribbella, Streptomyces, Agromyces, and Defluviicoccus. In addition, soil bacterial community structure showed significant differences between beech and spruce forest soils. The relative abundances of bacterial groups at different taxonomic levels correlated with soil pH, but little or no relationships to management type and other soil properties were found. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Soil bacterial community composition and diversity of the six analyzed management types showed significant differences between the land use types grassland and forest. Furthermore, bacterial community structure was largely driven by tree species and soil pH

Tony Blair and John Howard: comparative predominance and 'Institution Stretch' in the UK and Australia

It has recently been argued that the UK premier enjoys a level of executive power unavailable to US presidents, but how does he or she compare to another prime minister operating within a broadly similar system? Commonalities of intra-executive influence and capacity exist under the premierships in the UK and Australia. Discrete institutional constraints and deviations are evident, but trends and similarities in resource capacity can be clearly identified. These include: the growth of the leaders' office; broadening and centralising of policy advice and media operations; and strengthening of the role and function of ministerial advisers. I contend that this amounts to 'institution stretch', with new structures, processes and practices becoming embedded in the political system by the incumbents. © 2007 The Author. Journal compilation © 2007 Political Studies Association