Longevity Record for a Wild Allegheny Woodrat (Neotama magister) in West Virginia

The Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) is found throughout much of the central and southern Appalachians and adjacent portions of the Interior Highlands. Allegheny woodrats have declined in the northern portions of their range and are state-listed as threatened, endangered or sensitive species of concern in every state where they occur. Until recently, biologists have had to rely on biological data collected from the closely related eastern woodrat (N. floridana) because of limited research on the Allegheny woodrat. We have been studying the ecology and natural history of woodrats in Virginia and West Virginia since 1990. On 8 August 1997 we caught and ear-tagged a juvenile female woodrat. She was caught a total of 24 times in the same outcrop from 1997 through 2002. A conservative estimate of her age on 25 January 2002 was 1,734 days or 57.8 months. This extends the record longevity for a wild Allegheny woodrat by 70 days or 2.3 months. Regardless, her known time alive (from first capture to last) of 1,630 days still surpasses previous estimates of longevity for the Allegheny woodrat

Distribution and Activity Patterns of Large Carnivores and Their Implications for Human–Carnivore Conflict Management in Namibia

Human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) are increasing globally and contributing to the decline of wildlife species. In sub-Saharan African countries such as Namibia, most of the suitable land has been or is currently being converted to crop and livestock production to support income or subsistence agriculture. These changes in land use often incur increased levels of HWCs because of crop and livestock depredation by native species. To quantify livestock predation risks posed by carnivores in Namibia, we deployed 30 trail cameras on a 6,500-ha farm in the Khomas region of Namibia from May to July 2018. We developed occupancy models to make inferences about the factors influencing presence and temporal activity patterns of 2 carnivore species. We found that livestock were most at risk from predation by black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) at night in agricultural areas and from brown hyenas (Parahyaena brunnea) at night in riparian habitats. Our results suggest that farmers can reduce HWC risks by implementing animal husbandry practices to include protecting livestock at night using methods such as nighttime corrals and livestock guarding dogs (C. lupus familiaris), or herders. Increasing livestock producer access to funding (i.e., individual donations or governmental agencies) to implement improved animal husbandry practices could reduce HWCs

A New Long-tailed Weasel County Record in Shenandoah National Park

Though abundant throughout much of its range, the ecology and local geographic distribution of Mustela frenata (Long-tailed Weasel) is not well-known, especially in the central Appalachian Mountains. In 2015, we conducted a camera study in rock outcrop habitats within Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Our objective was to determine the presence of mammals considered uncommon in these habitats. After 2,016 trap nights, we report eleven photographic captures of Long-tailed Weasels at eight sites. Two of these sites represent the first record of this species in Rappahannock County, Virginia. These detections represent the first record of Long-tailed Weasels in Shenandoah National Park in 60 years and extend their known range within the Park

Bat Activity in Central Appalachian Wetlands

We conducted acoustical bat surveys at 14 high-elevation wetlands in West Virginia, using the Anabat II detection system. In two survey peri­ods (June and August 2002), we recorded seven bat species. Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) dominated the surveys, constituting 73.6% of all identifiable calls. Big Run Bog, which contains a 2-ha beaver pond with the most structurally open habitat in our study, accounted for 71.8% of all identifiable calls, nearly all identified as little brown bats. Observa­tions of note were one Indiana bat (M. sodalis), an endangered species that is present but locally rare, recorded at Big Run Bog, and the evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis) at North Bog, considered an accidental mi­grant in the region. Although the importance of these mountain wet­lands to regional bat communities is not fully understood, our surveys indicate that beaver-impacted wetlands appear to provide suitable forag­ing habitat for some bat species, including rare species in the region

A Learning Village: Utilizing a Holistic Approach to Create Connections between Community College Pre-Engineering Students and Iowa State’s College of Engineering

As part of a 5-year NSF grant, the partnership between Iowa State University (ISU) and Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) resulted in the Student Enrollment and Engagement through Connections (SEEC) project. This project is driven by five distinct Objective Teams (O-Teams) with each responsible for achieving specific objectives. These objectives are directly aligned with the project’s goal of increasing the number of students entering and earning an engineering degree at ISU. The SEEC project provided the opportunity to model and build a “learning village” based on ISU’s nationally recognized learning community foundation, and to increase student connections between these Iowa educational institutions. The intent of this paper is to chronicle the accomplishments of one of the O-Teams, the Learning Village Team, in the quest to achieve its overarching objective of “building a learning village that enhances student connections and creates ISU connections for community college pre-engineering transfer students.

Marshall University Music Department Presents the Marshall University Music Faculty, performing, The Soldier\u27s Tale, (L\u27Histoire du Soldat), by, Igor Stavinsky, with lecture by, Dr. Vicki Stroeher

https://mds.marshall.edu/music_perf/1600/thumbnail.jp

Biodegradable nano-films for capture and non-invasive release of circulating tumor cells

Selective isolation and purification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood is an important capability for both clinical medicine and biological research. Current techniques to perform this task place the isolated cells under excessive stresses that reduce cell viability, and potentially induce phenotype change, therefore losing valuable information about the isolated cells. We present a biodegradable nano-film coating on the surface of a microfluidic chip, which can be used to effectively capture as well as non-invasively release cancer cell lines such as PC-3, LNCaP, DU 145, H1650 and H1975. We have applied layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to create a library of ultrathin coatings using a broad range of materials through complementary interactions. By developing an LbL nano-film coating with an affinity-based cell-capture surface that is capable of selectively isolating cancer cells from whole blood, and that can be rapidly degraded on command, we are able to gently isolate cancer cells and recover them without compromising cell viability or proliferative potential. Our approach has the capability to overcome practical hurdles and provide viable cancer cells for downstream analyses, such as live cell imaging, single cell genomics, and invitro cell culture of recovered cells. Furthermore, CTCs from cancer patients were also captured, identified, and successfully released using the LbL-modified microchips