Ecological Risk Assessment for Highways in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

The population of coastal counties in the United States is over six-fold higher than non-coastal counties and population density along the Atlantic coast is much greater than all other coasts in the nation. Many areas around the Chesapeake Bay watershed are participating in this growth and extensive interstate construction is planned for this region. A wide array of primary ecological risks to the Chesapeake Bay exists, and may be classified as biological, physical, or chemical. Biological risks range from physical threats to motorists and animals to genetic risks to local flora and fauna populations. Island biogeography theory can be used to predict species losses associated with highway construction and resultant limits to migration. Introduction of exotic species and loss of ecologically significant areas (e.g. wetlands) are included as biological risks. Physical risks are primarily associated with hydrology, erosion, and related water quality considerations. Chemical concerns can be described as either chronic, such as certain airborne pollutants, or acute, such as accidental or illegal discharges. Secondary risks associated with highway construction result from facilitated traffic flow. Included are a variety of effects resulting from urban sprawl, strip development, and economic development of adjacent areas. Some ecological risks have received legislative, and subsequently transportation department attention. However, most ecological risks do not affect the decision-making process.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1179/thumbnail.jp

Ponderomotive and resonant effects in the acceleration of particles by electromagnetic modes

Funding: U.K. Science and Engineering Research Council under Grant No. EP/N028694/1 (R.A.C.).In the present analysis, we study the dynamics of charged particles under the action of slowly modulated electromagnetic carrier waves. With the use of a high-frequency laser mode along with a modulated static magnetic wiggler, we show that the ensuing total field effectively acts as a slowly modulated high-frequency beat-wave field typical of inverse free-electron laser schemes. This effective resulting field is capable of accelerating particles in much the same way as space-charge wake fields do in plasma accelerators, with the advantage of being more stable than plasma related methods. Acceleration occurs as particles transition from ponderomotive to resonant regimes, so we develop the ponder- omotive formalism needed to examine this problem. The ponderomotive formalism includes terms that, although not discussed in the usual applications of the approximation, are nevertheless of crucial importance in the vicinity of resonant capture. The role of these terms is also briefly discussed in the context of generic laser-plasma interactions.PostprintPeer reviewe

Clinically early-stage CSPα mutation carrier exhibits remarkable terminal stage neuronal pathology with minimal evidence of synaptic loss

Autosomal dominant adult-onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (AD-ANCL) is a multisystem disease caused by mutations in the DNAJC5 gene. DNAJC5 encodes Cysteine String Protein-alpha (CSPα), a putative synaptic protein. AD-ANCL has been traditionally considered a lysosomal storage disease based on the intracellular accumulation of ceroid material. Here, we report for the first time the pathological findings of a patient in a clinically early stage of disease, which exhibits the typical neuronal intracellular ceroid accumulation and incipient neuroinflammation but no signs of brain atrophy, neurodegeneration or massive synaptic loss. Interestingly, we found minimal or no apparent reductions in CSPα or synaptophysin in the neuropil. In contrast, brain homogenates from terminal AD-ANCL patients exhibit significant reductions in SNARE-complex forming presynaptic protein levels, including a significant reduction in CSPα and SNAP-25. Frozen samples for the biochemical analyses of synaptic proteins were not available for the early stage AD-ANLC patient. These results suggest that the degeneration seen in the patients with AD-ANCL reported here might be a consequence of both the early effects of CSPα mutations at the cellular soma, most likely lysosome function, and subsequent neuronal loss and synaptic dysfunction

Primary Productivity in 20-year Old Created Wetlands in Southwestern Virginia

Abstract Thousands of depressional wetlands accidentally formed as a result of pre-1977 contour coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains. Eleven 20-yr old sites were found in a watershed that did not receive acid mine drainage. The purpose of this study was to quantify and model above-and below-ground plant biomass in these created wetlands and to evaluate functional development. Sampling was stratified by weighted average of two plant communities, which corresponded to shallower and deeper water levels, facultative wetland and obligate wetland communities, respectively. In 1994, peak above-ground biomass averaged 473.7 g m −2 in the facultative wetland community and 409.5 g m −2 in the obligate wetland community. Scirpus cyperinus exhibited the highest peak above-ground biomass (51.8% of total biomass) and Typha latifolia ranked second. Canonical correspondence analysis detected positive effects of longer soil exposure to the atmosphere and greater sediment depth on above-ground biomass at the site (wetland ecosystem) level. Within communities, forward stepwise regression identified positive association of aboveground biomass with water soluble reactive P, water soluble NH 3 , decomposition rate over 507 d, live S. cyperinus tissue P content, and sediment depth. When these results are combined with prior studies conducted at the same 20-yr old sites, it appears that both structural and functional development has been arrested at a somewhat immature state resulting primarily from soil and hydrologic factors

Negative linear compressibility exhibited by the hybrid perovskite [(NH2)3C]Er(HCO2)2(C2O4)

Extended framework materials with specific topologies can exhibit unusual mechanical behaviour, such as expanding in one direction under hydrostatic (uniform) pressure, known as negative linear compressibility (NLC). Here, two hybrid perovskite frameworks with winerack structures, a known NLC topology, are investigated under pressure. [C(NH2)3]Er(HCO2)2(C2O4) exhibits NLC from ambient pressure to 2.63(10) GPa, the first reported NLC hybrid perovskite from ambient pressure. However, isostructural [(CH3)2NH2]Er(HCO2)2(C2O4) instead compresses relatively moderately along all axes before it undergoes a phase transition above 0.37(10) GPa. The differences in the mechanical properties can be interpreted from differences in host–guest interactions within these frameworks, primarily their hydrogen bond networks

Innate Immune Cell Recovery Is Positively Regulated by NLRP12 during Emergency Hematopoiesis

With enhanced concerns of terrorist attacks, dual exposure to radiation and thermal combined injury (RCI) has become a real threat with devastating immunosuppression. NLRP12, a member of the NOD-like receptor family, is expressed in myeloid and bone marrow cells and has been implicated as a checkpoint regulator of inflammatory cytokines as well as an inflammasome activator. We show that NLRP12 has a profound impact on hematopoietic recovery during RCI by serving as a checkpoint of TNF signaling and preventing hematopoietic apoptosis. Using a mouse model of RCI, increased NLRP12 expression was detected in target tissues. Nlrp12−/− mice exhibited significantly greater mortality, inability to fight bacterial infection, heightened levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, overt granulocyte/monocyte progenitor cell apoptosis and failure to reconstitute peripheral myeloid populations. Anti-TNF antibody administration improved peripheral immune recovery. These data suggest that NLRP12 is essential for survival after RCI by regulating myelopoiesis and immune reconstitution

The potential of trading activity income to fund third sector organisations operating in deprived areas

In the United Kingdom, as in other countries, Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) have been drawn towards income sources associated with trading activities (Teasdale, 2010), but many remain reliant on grant funding to support such activities (Chell, 2007). Using a multivariate analysis approach and data from the National Survey of Charities and Social Enterprises (NSCSE), it is found that trading activities are used relatively commonly in deprived areas. These organisations are also more likely to attempt to access public sector funds. This suggests policy-makers need to consider the impact of funding cuts on TSOs in the most deprived areas as TSOs are unlikely achieve their objectives without continuing support

Identifying cell enriched miRNAs in kidney injury and repair

Small noncoding RNAs, miRNAs (miRNAs), are emerging as important modulators in the pathogenesis of kidney disease, with potential as biomarkers of kidney disease onset, progression, or therapeutic efficacy. Bulk tissue small RNA-sequencing (sRNA-Seq) and microarrays are widely used to identify dysregulated miRNA expression but are limited by the lack of precision regarding the cellular origin of the miRNA. In this study, we performed cell-specific sRNA-Seq on tubular cells, endothelial cells, PDGFR-β+ cells, and macrophages isolated from injured and repairing kidneys in the murine reversible unilateral ureteric obstruction model. We devised an unbiased bioinformatics pipeline to define the miRNA enrichment within these cell populations, constructing a miRNA catalog of injury and repair. Our analysis revealed that a significant proportion of cell-specific miRNAs in healthy animals were no longer specific following injury. We then applied this knowledge of the relative cell specificity of miRNAs to deconvolute bulk miRNA expression profiles in the renal cortex in murine models and human kidney disease. Finally, we used our data-driven approach to rationally select macrophage-enriched miR-16-5p and miR-18a-5p and demonstrate that they are promising urinary biomarkers of acute kidney injury in renal transplant recipients

Co-opetition models for governing professional football

In recent years, models for co-creating value in a business-to-business context have often been examined with the aim of studying the strategies implemented by and among organisations for competitive and co-operative purposes. The traditional concepts of competition and co-operation between businesses have now evolved, both in terms of the sector in which the businesses operate and in terms of the type of goods they produce. Many researchers have, in recent times, investigated the determinants that can influence the way in which the model of co-opetition can be applied to the football world. Research interest lies in the particular features of what makes a good football. In this paper, the aim is to conduct an analysis of the rules governing the “football system”, while also looking at the determinants of the demand function within football entertainment. This entails applying to football match management the co-opetition model, a recognised model that combines competition and co-operation with the view of creating and distributing value. It can, therefore, be said that, for a spectator, watching sport is an experience of high suspense, and this suspense, in turn, depends upon the degree of uncertainty in the outcome. It follows that the rules ensuring that both these elements can be satisfied are a fertile ground for co-operation between clubs, as it is in the interest of all stakeholders to offer increasingly more attractive football, in comparison with other competing products. Our end purpose is to understand how co-opetition can be achieved within professional football