China's Sloping Land Conversion Program: A Village Level Analysis of Land Use, Environmental, and Economic Changes

ABSTRACT. China’s Sloping Land Conversion Program seeks to improve both the environmental and economic conditions of rural farmers by paying them a cash and grain subsidy over a period of five to eight years. In exchange, farmers retire a portion of their agricultural land and plant a cover crop of trees or grasses to help prevent soil erosion. This paper evaluates the economic and environmental impact of the program four years after its first implementation. Results suggest the program was successfully targeted at poorer farmers on erosion-prone sloping farmland. There is also some evidence the program is improving farmer incomes and pushing more farmers into off-farm labor markets. However, the targeting of highly sloping farmland (greater than 25 degrees) could be improved.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environmenthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39211/1/dwightrdavis_snrethesis.pd

Antibody responses to a Cryptosporidium parvum rCP15/60 vaccine

Cryptosporidium parvum is a zoonotic apicomplexa-protozoan pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and diarrhoea in mammals worldwide. The organism is transmitted by ingestion of oocysts, which are shed in faeces, and completes its lifecycle in a single host.^1^ C. parvum is ubiquitous on dairy operations worldwide and is one of the leading causes of diarrhoea in calves on these farms.^2,3^ Here, for the first time, we describe the antibody response in a large group of cows to a recombinant C. parvum oocyst surface protein (rCP15/60) vaccine and the antibody response in calves fed rCP15/60-immune colostrum produced by these vaccinated cows. Results of recent genotype surveys indicate that calves are the only major reservoir for C. parvum infections in humans.^4^ Human C. parvum infections are particularly prevalent and often fatal in neonates in developing countries and to immunocompromised people, such as AIDs patients.^4^ Drug therapy against cryptosporidiosis is limited and not wholly efficacious in either humans or calves^5^, making development of an effective vaccine of paramount importance. To date, there is no commercially available effective vaccine against C. parvum, although passive immunization utilizing different zoite surface (glyco)proteins has showed promise.^6-9^ All cows we vaccinated produced an antibody response to the rCP15/60 vaccine and the magnitude of response correlated strongly with the subsequent level of antibody in their colostrum. All calves fed rCP15/60-immune colostrum showed a dose-dependent absorption of antibody. Our results demonstrate that vaccination of cows with rCP15/60 successfully induces antibodies against CP15/60 in their serum and colostrum and that these antibodies are then well absorbed when fed to neonatal calves. With further research, this C. parvum vaccine may well be a practical method of conferring passive protection to calves against cryptosporidiosis. Furthermore, a specifically targeted immune-colostrum may be valuable in protection and treatment of immunocompromised human patients with cryptosporidiosis

Byzantium Beneath the Black Sea

This poster reports on the August 2007 Black Sea Expedition of the Institute for Archaeological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island (IAO) and the Institute for Exploration (IFE), in collaboration with the Department of the Underwater Heritage of Ukraine. This year’s work marks a new phase in a multi-year (2000–2012) archaeological and oceanographic survey of the Black Sea. 2007 fieldwork focuses on two Byzantine shipwrecks. The 10th century C.E. shipwreck Chersonesos A (discovered in 2006) lies at 140 m depth in the suboxic zone off the Crimean peninsula. The ship carried a cargo of one-handled jars of a widely distributed but sparsely documented local type. The sixth century C.E. shipwreck Sinop D (discovered in 2000) lies at 325 m depth off Sinop, Turkey, in the anoxic zone, and also carried a locally-made amphora type. Sinop D is the best-preserved ancient ship yet discovered in the deep sea, and non-intrusive examination of the hull yields unique information about ancient ship construction and local patterns of technological exchange. Our initial studies focus on environmental characterization and the deepwater implementation of long-term site monitoring, decay rate testing, and sediment analyses, to develop management plans for each shipwreck. Cross-site comparisons address deepwater preservation under differing levels of oxygen depletion. We conclude with an assessment of our ability to record, excavate, monitor, and conserve deepwater sites as underwater museums using remote operated vehicle (ROV) deployed technology

Ensuring Access to Dental Care for Pregnant Women in Vermont

Introduction. In Vermont, $2.7 million is spent annually caring for children ages 0-5 with early childhood caries (ECC) who require hospitalization for treatment. Nationwide, obstetricians are often not familiar with published prenatal oral health guidelines. It is unclear how providers in Vermont address prenatal oral health. Recently, the$495 Medicaid cap on reimbursement for perinatal dental care was lifted and now extends coverage 60 days after delivery, making the prenatal period an ideal time to intervene.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1200/thumbnail.jp

A “dock, lock, and latch” Structural Model for a Staphylococcal Adhesin Binding to Fibrinogen

AbstractGram-positive pathogens such as staphylococci contain multiple cell wall-anchored proteins that serve as an interface between the microbe and its environment. Some of these proteins act as adhesins and mediate bacterial attachment to host tissues. SdrG is a cell wall-anchored adhesin from Staphylococcus epidermidis that binds to the Bβ chain of human fibrinogen (Fg) and is necessary and sufficient for bacterial attachment to Fg-coated biomaterials. Here, we present the crystal structures of the ligand binding region of SdrG as an apoprotein and in complex with a synthetic peptide analogous to its binding site in Fg. Analysis of the crystal structures, along with mutational studies of both the protein and of the peptide, reveals that SdrG binds to its ligand with a dynamic “dock, lock, and latch” mechanism. We propose that this mechanism represents a general mode of ligand binding for structurally related cell wall-anchored proteins of gram-positive bacteria

Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 (QSF18) Test: Galveston, Texas Risk Reduction for Future Community Testing with a Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Vehicle

The Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 (QSF18) Program was designed to develop tools and methods for demonstration of overland supersonic flight with an acceptable sonic boom, and collect a large dataset of responses from a representative sample of the population. Phase 1 provided the basis for a low amplitude sonic boom testing in six different climate regions that will enable international regulatory agencies to draft a noise-based standard for certifying civilian supersonic overland flight. Phase 2 successfully executed a large scale test in Galveston, Texas, developed well documented data sets, calculated dose response relationships, yielded lessons, and identified future risk reduction activities

Academic Senate - Meeting Minutes, 4/18/2017

<p>All values are presented with SD. Differences between <i>LDLR−/−</i> and the other two genotypes are significant where indicated, ANOVA: *p<0.05, **p<0.01.</p