2008 Progress Report on Brain Research

Highlights new research on various disorders, nervous system injuries, neuroethics, neuroimmunology, pain, sense and body function, stem cells and neurogenesis, and thought and memory. Includes essays on arts and cognition and on deep brain stimulation

Small Communities and Public Participation in the Cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment Process: The Case of Little Bouctouche River, New Brunswick

This paper uses a case study of a small community effectively engaging with the environmental assessment process to examine the changing nature of this practice in Canada and the implications of these changes for New Brunswick. The case study considers the role of citizens and grassroots organizations in determining the future of a local bridge and causeway over the Little Bouctouche River in McKee’s Mills (New Brunswick, Canada) and in expanding the discussion to include an assessment of the long-term health of the waterway. By relying on attendance at each of the locally organized public meetings dealing with the restoration project, an analysis of written statements and other documents posted on the citizen-based website, and interviews with key community organizers and government representatives, this study develops baseline criteria for effective public involvement within the larger, more formalized provincial environmental assessment processes. In specific terms, it ties public participation to the broader topic of cumulative impact assessment in the province within the changing context of federal-provincial assessment processes. This study finds that concerned individuals, who are passionate about an issue that galvanizes them into action, act as catalysts for the involvement of community groups in the environmental assessment process and, by doing so, they can affect in a significant way the implementation and outcomes of this type of review as well as management policies and processes. In the case of McKee’s Mills, these individuals enlisted the aid of like-minded community members and concerned citizens, canvassed the local residents for their thoughts and perspectives, joined forces with other groups and organizations with similar concerns, as well as contacted government departments and local dignitaries. The community’s identification of the need for a cumulative effects approach to the assessment has important implications for the way in which the government of New Brunswick might conduct successful environmental reviews. This research highlights the importance of grassroots organizations in protecting, preserving, and conserving communities in an ever-changing world.Cet article se base sur une étude de cas d’une petite collectivité qui s’engage bien dans le processus d’évaluation environnementale en vue d’examiner la nature changeante d’une telle pratique au Canada ainsi que les répercussions de ces changements pour le Nouveau-Brunswick. L’étude de cas examine le rôle des citoyens et des organisations locales afin de décider de l’avenir d’un pont et d’une chaussée locaux sur la petite rivière Bouctouche à McKee’s Mills, au Nouveau-Brunswick, au Canada, et de favoriser la discussion afin de comprendre une évaluation de la santé à long terme de la voie d’eau. En se fiant au taux de participation à chacune des réunions publiques organisées localement qui portent sur le projet de restauration, à une analyse de déclarations écrites et d’autres documents affichés sur le site Web axé sur les citoyens et à des entretiens avec des organisateurs communautaires clés et des représentants gouvernementaux, cette étude élabore des critères de base pour une participation du public efficace dans les processus provinciaux d’évaluation environnementale les plus importants et les plus formels. Concrètement, cela lie la participation du public à la thématique plus large de l’évaluation des effets cumulatifs dans la province au sein du contexte changeant des processus d’évaluation fédéral-provinciaux. Selon cette étude, les personnes concernées, qui sont passionnées par une question qui les incite à passer à l’action, agissent en tant que catalyseurs pour la participation des groupes communautaires dans le processus d’évaluation environnementale et, ce faisant, elles peuvent influencer de manière importante la mise en œuvre et les résultats de ce genre d’examen ainsi que les politiques et processus de gestion. Quant à McKee’s Mills, ces personnes ont demandé de l’aide à des membres de la collectivité partageant les mêmes opinions et à des citoyens intéressés, se sont adressées aux gens de la région afin d’obtenir leurs réflexions et leurs perspectives, ont uni leurs forces avec d’autres groupes et organismes ayant des préoccupations similaires. De plus, elles ont communiqué avec les ministères et les dignitaires locaux. L’identification qu’a faite la collectivité du besoin d’une démarche ayant des effets cumulatifs en ce qui concerne l’évaluation a des répercussions importantes sur la façon dont le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick pourrait mener des examens environnementaux réussis. Cette étude souligne l’importance des organisations locales dans la protection, la préservation et la conservation des collectivités dans un monde en constante évolution

New Localities in Ohio for Five Vascular Plant Species

Author Institution: Dept. of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Cleveland State University, OHFloristic studies are imperative for documentation of our biodiversity. We conducted floristic surveys within regions of Ohio that were ecologically interesting and contained a diverse flora. We report new records of five vascular plant species, Nigella damascena, Salix x sepulcralis, Spiraea x bumalda,Thermopsis villosa, and Veronica longifolia. Two of these species have not been reported in Ohio, while three are new to the county in which they were collected

Mollusc shell periostracum as an alternative to tissue in isotopic studies

Recent studies have used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of preserved soft tissues to examine historical changes in trophic patterns of aquatic ecosystems. A limitation in this application is the difficulty in finding specimens for primary consumers, which can act as a surrogate for basal food sources in determining the trophic status of higher consumers. The availability of preserved soft tissues of invertebrate primary consumers is often limited in museum and archival collections; hard parts such as mollusc shells, however, are often abundant because of their ease of storage. We used stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen to determine if there was a relationship between the isotopic composition of the periostracum of the shell and soft body tissue of freshwater molluscs. We found a significant correlation between (1) periostracum and tissue of freshly collected freshwater mussels, (2) ethanol-preserved adductor muscle tissue and dry-preserved mussels from museum collections, and (3) ethanol-preserved tissue and periostracum of gastropods from museum collections. The predictability of these relationships enhances the capacity to track changes in trophic complexity over time and responses of food webs to natural and anthropogenic environmental perturbations

Characterization and performance of nucleic acid nanoparticles combined with protamine and gold

Macromolecular nucleic acids such as DNA vaccines, siRNA, and splice-site switching oligomers (SSO) have vast chemotherapeutic potential. Nanoparticulate biomaterials hold promise for DNA and RNA delivery when a means for binding is identified that retains structure-function and provides stabilization by the nanoparticles. In order to provide these benefits of binding, we combined DNA and RNA with protamine-demonstrating association to gold microparticles by electrophoretic, gel shot, fluorescence, and dynamic laser light spectroscopy (DLLS). A pivotal finding in these studies is that the Au-protamine-DNA conjugates greatly stabilize the DNA; and DNA structure and vaccine activity are maintained even after exposure to physical, chemical, and temperature-accelerated degradation. Specifically, protamine formed nanoparticles when complexed to RNA. These complexes could be detected by gel shift and were probed by high throughput absorbance difference spectroscopy (HTADS). Biological activity of these RNA nanoparticles (RNPs) was demonstrated also by a human tumor cell splice-site switching assay and by siRNA delivery against B-Raf-a key cancer target. Finally, RNA:protamine particles inhibited growth of cultured human tumor cells and bacteria. These data provide new insights into DNA and RNA nanoparticles and prospects for their delivery and chemotherapeutic activity. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved