MANAGING RACCOONS, SKUNKS, AND OPOSSUMS IN URBAN SETTINGS

Increased urbanization and decreased government funding, plus increased numbers of certain wildlife species, have combined to provide a greater need for wildlife management of nuisance animals in the urban environment

Extraction and Purification of DNA from Complex Biological Sample Matrices Using Solid-Phase Microextraction Coupled with Real-Time PCR

The determination of extremely small quantities of DNA from complex biological sample matrices represents a significant bottleneck in nucleic acid analysis. In this study, polymeric ionic liquid (PIL)-based solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was applied for the extraction and purification of DNA from crude bacterial cell lysate with subsequent quantification by real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis. Using an on-fiber ultraviolet initiated polymerization technique, eight different PIL sorbent coatings were generated and their DNA extraction performance evaluated using qPCR. The PIL sorbent coating featuring halide anions and carboxylic acid groups in the cationic portion exhibited superior DNA extraction capabilities when compared to the other studied PILs and a commercial polyacrylate SPME fiber. Electrostatic interactions as well as an ion-exchange mechanism were identified as the driving forces in DNA extraction by the PIL sorbents. The selectivity of the PIL sorbent coating for DNA was demonstrated in the presence of PCR inhibitors at high concentration, where a quantifiable amount of template DNA was extracted from aqueous samples containing CaCl2 and FeCl3. Furthermore, the PIL-based SPME method was successfully applied for the extraction of DNA from crude bacterial cell lysate spiked with 1 pg mL−1 template DNA without requiring the use of organic solvents or centrifugation steps. Following PIL-based SPME of DNA from a dilute cell lysate, the qPCR amplification efficiency was determined to be 100.3%, demonstrating the feasibility of the developed method to extract high purity DNA from complex sample matrices

Three IT-Business Alignment Profiles: Technical Resource, Business Enabler, and Strategic Weapon

There is a growing recognition among alignment researchers and IT professionals that one size does not fit all. In this article, we provide an important extension of alignment research that shows three profiles linking IT to different business objectives. We address the need to identify the appropriate types of IT alignment by using a multi-method study including interviews and cases. Two dimensions define the three alignment profiles: internal IT-business integration and external market engagement. The technical resource profile calls for low levels of IT-business integration and IT-market engagement. The business enabler profile deploys IT in some business processes and begins engaging IT with customers and suppliers. The strategic weapon profile uses IT to mobilize and extend the enterprise, which requires extensive IT deployment, both internally and externally. Each profile differs in strategies, criteria, capabilities, and mental models. Importantly, IT decision-makers should not adopt stage-model thinking which assumes that technical resource profiles naturally progress up the chain. Rather, successful use of IT requires specifying the requisite alignment profile as an initial design decision so that appropriate levels of resource allocation and management involvement occur

Quantum mutual information of an entangled state propagating through a fast-light medium

Although it is widely accepted that classical information cannot travel faster than the speed of light in vacuum, the behavior of quantum correlations and quantum information propagating through actively-pumped fast-light media has not been studied in detail. To investigate this behavior, we send one half of an entangled state of light through a gain-assisted fast-light medium and detect the remaining quantum correlations. We show that the quantum correlations can be advanced by a small fraction of the correlation time while the entanglement is preserved even in the presence of noise added by phase-insensitive gain. Additionally, although we observe an advance of the peak of the quantum mutual information between the modes, we find that the degradation of the mutual information due to the added noise appears to prevent an advancement of the leading edge. In contrast, we show that both the leading and trailing edges of the mutual information in a slow-light system can be significantly delayed

An Analysis of Masked Bobwhite Collection Locales and Habitat Characteristics

We evaluated the collecting locales of 251 masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi) specimens in museum collections. Eighteen were from 4 sites in Arizona—all collected by Herbert Brown. The vast majority (93%) of specimens were from the Mexican State of Sonora. We visited and photographed each of the Arizona collection locations and most of the sites in Sonora. Collector descriptions indicate the bird’s principal habitat affiliations were with tall grass-weed (1⁄4 forb) pastures, savannas, and farm fields. All historic localities visited were either in grass-forb habitats along drainages or in present or former savannas adjacent to woody cover and/or agricultural fields between 240 and 1,060 m elevation. These sites were remarkably similar to other bobwhite habitats in subtropic-tropic South Texas and Oaxaca, Mexico. Masked bobwhite habitat was a diverse tropic-subtropic grassland within or adjacent to dense woody cover (thornscrub) and/or farmland. These habitats experienced alterations and loss of the tall grass-weed component due to livestock husbandry. Some former habitat sites appear to have recovered, however, and restoration of the subspecies might be possible if suitable stock exists. Unfortunately, this bird may now be functionally extinct