Panel Discussion: Formative Steps in Regional Water Management

Proceedings of the 2001 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 26 and 27, 2001, Athens, Georgia.Over the past ten years, a number of regional water or watershed management efforts have been initiated in Georgia. The increasing number of regional initiatives demonstrates a growing need, or a growing recognition of the need, for management at a scale between local/community efforts and statewide programs implemented by state agencies. However, there is currently limited state support and no systematic effort to develop regional water management structures across Georgia. To date, regional water management efforts in the state have varied widely in their genesis, initial approach, development, and accomplishments. This session is designed to explore five representative regional management initiatives. The goals of the session are to illuminate common and distinctive features and to identify ways to support and enhance efforts to manage water resources and watersheds at the critical regional scale.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397) or the other conference sponsors

Disease associated polymorphisms within the conserved ECR1 enhancer differentially regulate the tissue specific activity of the cannabinoid‐1 receptor gene promoter; implications for cannabinoid pharmacogenetics

EH was funded by Medical Research Scotland (PhD-719-2013) and GW Pharmaceuticals. AMcE was funded by BBSRC project grant (BB/N017544/1). PB and DW are funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division to the Rowett Institute. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Effect of Galactic Properties on the Escape Fraction of Ionizing Photons

The escape fraction, fesc, of ionizing photons from early galaxies is a crucial parameter for determining whether the observed galaxies at z > 6 are able to reionize the high-redshift intergalactic medium. Previous attempts to measure fesc have found a wide range of values, varying from less than 0.01 to nearly 1. Rather than finding a single value of fesc, we clarify through modeling how internal properties of galaxies affect fesc through the density and distribution of neutral hydrogen within the galaxy, along with the rate of ionizing photons production. We find that the escape fraction depends sensitively on the covering factor of clumps, along with the density of the clumped and interclump medium. One must therefore be cautious when dealing with an inhomogeneous medium. Fewer, high-density clumps lead to a greater escape fraction than more numerous low-density clumps. When more ionizing photons are produced in a starburst, fesc increases, as photons escape more readily from the gas layers. Large variations in the predicted escape fraction, caused by differences in the hydrogen distribution, may explain the large observed differences in fesc among galaxies. Values of fesc must also be consistent with the reionization history. High-mass galaxies alone are unable to reionize the universe, because fesc > 1 would be required. Small galaxies are needed to achieve reionization, with greater mean escape fraction in the past.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures. Accepted to ApJ. v2: Improvements based on referee's comment

Obscured Starburst Activity in High Redshift Clusters and Groups

Using Spitzer-MIPS 24um imaging and Keck spectroscopy we examine the nature of the obscured star forming population in three clusters and three groups at z~0.9. These six systems are components of the Cl1604 supercluster, the largest structure imaged by Spitzer at redshifts near unity. We find that the average density of 24um-detected galaxies within the Cl1604 clusters is nearly twice that of the surrounding field and that this overdensity scales with the cluster's dynamical state. The 24um-bright members often appear optically unremarkable and exhibit only moderate [OII] line emission due to severe obscuration. Their spatial distribution suggests they are an infalling population, but an examination of their spectral properties, morphologies and optical colors indicate they are not simply analogs of the field population that have yet to be quenched. Using stacked composite spectra, we find the 24um-detected cluster and group galaxies exhibit elevated levels of Balmer absorption compared to galaxies undergoing normal, continuous star formation. A similar excess is not observed in field galaxies with equivalent infrared luminosities, indicating a greater fraction of the detected cluster and group members have experienced a burst of star formation in the recent past compared to their counterparts in the field. Our results suggest that gas-rich galaxies at high redshift experience a temporary increase in their star formation activity as they assemble into denser environments. Using HST-ACS imaging we find that disturbed morphologies are common among the 24um-detected cluster and group members and become more prevalent in regions of higher galaxy density. We conclude that mergers are the dominant triggering mechanism responsible for the enhanced star formation found in the Cl1604 groups, while a mix of harassment and mergers are likely driving the activity of the cluster galaxies.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Ap

Biochar research activities and their relation to development and environmental quality. A meta-analysis

Biochar is the solid product that results from pyrolysis of organic materials. Its addition to highly weathered soils changes physico-chemical soil properties, improves soil functions and enhances crop yields. Highly weathered soils are typical of humid tropics where agricultural productivity is low and needs to be raised to reduce human hunger and poverty. However, impact of biochar research on scientists, politicians and end-users in poor tropical countries remains unknown; assessing needs and interests on biochar is essential to develop reliable knowledge transfer/translation mechanisms. The aim of this publication is to present results of a meta-analysis conducted to (1) survey global biochar research published between 2010 and 2014 to assess its relation to human development and environmental quality, and (2) deduce, based on the results of this analysis, priorities required to assess and promote the role of biochar in the development of adapted and sustainable agronomic methods. Our main findings reveal for the very first time that: (1) biochar research associated with less developed countries focused on biochar production technologies (26.5 ± 0.7%), then on biochars’ impact on chemical soil properties (18.7 ± 1.2%), and on plant productivity (17.1 ± 2.6%); (2) China dominated biochar research activities among the medium developed countries focusing on biochar production technologies (26.8 ± 0.5%) and on use of biochar as sorbent for organic and inorganic compounds (29.1 ± 0.4%); and (3) the majority of biochar research (69.0±2.9%) was associated with highly developed countries that are able to address a higher diversity of questions. Evidently, less developed countries are eager to improve soil fertility and agricultural productivity, which requires transfer and/or translation of biochar knowledge acquired in highly developed countries. Yet, improving local research capacities and encouraging synergies across scientific disciplines and countries are crucial to foster development of sustainable agronomy in less developed countries. © 2017, The Author(s)

Cost-effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF) represents a major public health issue and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan (formerly LCZ696) compared with an ACE inhibitor (ACEI) (enalapril) in the treatment of HF-REF from the perspective of healthcare providers in the UK, Denmark and Colombia. METHODS: A cost-utility analysis was performed based on data from a multinational, Phase III randomised controlled trial. A decision-analytic model was developed based on a series of regression models, which extrapolated health-related quality of life, hospitalisation rates and survival over a lifetime horizon. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). RESULTS: In the UK, the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained for sacubitril/valsartan (using cardiovascular mortality) was £17 100 (€20 400) versus enalapril. In Denmark, the ICER for sacubitril/valsartan was Kr 174 000 (€22 600). In Colombia, the ICER was COP$39.5 million (€11 200) per QALY gained. Deterministic sensitivity analysis showed that results were most sensitive to the extrapolation of mortality, duration of treatment effect and time horizon, but were robust to other structural changes, with most scenarios associated with ICERs below the willingness-to-pay threshold for all three country settings. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggested the probability that sacubitril/valsartan was cost-effective at conventional willingness-to-pay thresholds was 68%-94% in the UK, 84% in Denmark and 95% in Colombia. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis suggests that, in all three countries, sacubitril/valsartan is likely to be cost-effective compared with an ACEI (the current standard of care) in patients with HF-REF

Examining body appreciation in six countries: The impact of age and sociocultural pressure

Previous research on body appreciation across the lifespan has produced conflicting results that it increases with age, decreases with age, or is generally stable with an increase in women over 50-years-old. Furthermore, most of the research has been conducted in White, Western populations. Cross-cultural research suggests that both Chinese and African women experience similar sociocultural pressures as White Western women, and that appearance ideals are shifting to resemble a more Western ideal. We cross-sectionally and cross-culturally examined body appreciation across the lifespan, recruiting White Western women (UK, USA, Canada, and Australia), Black Nigerian women, and Chinese women. 1186 women aged 18–80 completed measures of body appreciation, internalisation of thin and athletic ideals, and perceived sociocultural pressure. Body appreciation did not vary with age in women from any country. Nigerian women reported the highest body appreciation, and Western women the lowest. Higher thin/athletic ideal internalisation, and higher perceived sociocultural pressure were significantly associated with lower body appreciation in all countries and age-groups. Overall, our findings indicate that although levels of body appreciation differ drastically between ethnicities and cultures, it is generally stable across age, and shows cross-culturally robust relationships between sociocultural internalisation and pressure

CMIP and ATP2C2 Modulate Phonological Short-Term Memory in Language Impairment

Specific language impairment (SLI) is a common developmental disorder characterized by difficulties in language acquisition despite otherwise normal development and in the absence of any obvious explanatory factors. We performed a high-density screen of SLI1, a region of chromosome 16q that shows highly significant and consistent linkage to nonword repetition, a measure of phonological short-term memory that is commonly impaired in SLI. Using two independent language-impaired samples, one family-based (211 families) and another selected from a population cohort on the basis of extreme language measures (490 cases), we detected association to two genes in the SLI1 region: that encoding c-maf-inducing protein (CMIP, minP = 5.5 × 10−7 at rs6564903) and that encoding calcium-transporting ATPase, type2C, member2 (ATP2C2, minP = 2.0 × 10−5 at rs11860694). Regression modeling indicated that each of these loci exerts an independent effect upon nonword repetition ability. Despite the consistent findings in language-impaired samples, investigation in a large unselected cohort (n = 3612) did not detect association. We therefore propose that variants in CMIP and ATP2C2 act to modulate phonological short-term memory primarily in the context of language impairment. As such, this investigation supports the hypothesis that some causes of language impairment are distinct from factors that influence normal language variation. This work therefore implicates CMIP and ATP2C2 in the etiology of SLI and provides molecular evidence for the importance of phonological short-term memory in language acquisition

Galaxy Mergers and Dark Matter Halo Mergers in LCDM: Mass, Redshift, and Mass-Ratio Dependence

We employ a high-resolution LCDM N-body simulation to present merger rate predictions for dark matter halos and investigate how common merger-related observables for galaxies--such as close pair counts, starburst counts, and the morphologically disturbed fraction--likely scale with luminosity, stellar mass, merger mass ratio, and redshift from z=0 to z=4. We provide a simple 'universal' fitting formula that describes our derived merger rates for dark matter halos a function of dark halo mass, merger mass ratio, and redshift, and go on to predict galaxy merger rates using number density-matching to associate halos with galaxies. For example, we find that the instantaneous merger rate of m/M>0.3 mass ratio events into typical L > f L* galaxies follows the simple relation dN/dt=0.03(1+f)(1+z)^2.1 Gyr^-1. Despite the rapid increase in merger rate with redshift, only a small fraction of >0.4 L* high-redshift galaxies (~3% at z=2) should have experienced a major merger (m/M >0.3) in the very recent past (t< 100 Myr). This suggests that short-lived, merger-induced bursts of star formation should not contribute significantly to the global star formation rate at early times, in agreement with observational indications. We emphasize that great care must be made in comparisons to observations because the predicted observables depend very sensitively on galaxy luminosity, redshift, overall mass ratio, and uncertain relaxation timescales for merger remnants. We show that the majority of bright galaxies at z=3 should have undergone a major merger (>0.3) in the last 700 Myr and conclude that mergers almost certainly play an important role in delivering baryons and influencing the kinematic properties of Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs). (abridged)Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables; v2 updated to match published version in ApJ. Includes expanded discussion, and fixes typo in "galaxy stellar mass mergers" fitting paramters. Primary results and conclusions unchange

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy