LOUISIANA RURAL LAND VALUES AND TENURE ARRANGEMENTS

Rural land comprises 77 percent of Louisiana's total land acreage, with a wide diversity of physical characteristics and use. Therefore, reliable rural real estate market information is expected to be of value to landowners, investors, borrowers, lenders, realtors, appraisers, public taxing authorities, and policy makers. This report presents the results from the second annual Louisiana Rural Land Market Survey. Results of this study suggest that land values vary by area of the state and the primary commodity grown on the tract. Substantial variation in land value within areas and by parish suggests a number of factors affect rural land values and markets.Land Economics/Use,

Acidity Studies of Deuterated Acids and Bases Commonly Used as Buffers in NMR Studies

Structure based drug development is currently considered to be an important strategy for drug discovery. This strategy requires that critical knowledge of the three dimensional binding site on receptor molecules be known. NMR studies are frequently employed to ascertain important structural data on individual proteins as well as complexes of proteins with ligands. Deuterium labeled acids and bases are frequently used as buffers in deuterium oxide solutions for NMR studies on the structural conformations of bioactive molecules. Since pH is an important factor in any study of the conformational and stereochemical aspects of biologically active molecules, deuterated buffers are an essential part of the NMR experiments. However, the ionization constant for deuterium oxide (1.95 x 1015) is significantly different from that of water. Therefore, a pH comparison of deuterium-labeled acids and bases in deuterium oxide with nondeuterated aqueous acids and bases was conducted. Titration curve comparisons for deuterated and nondeuterated hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, sodium formate, and TRIS (tris[hydroxymethyl] amino methane) are described. Also, the average pKas of deuterated and non-deuterated acetic acid, formic acid, and TRIS are compared

A Crisis of Erasure: Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Populations Navigating Breast Cancer Health Information

In this paper, we use the topic of breast cancer as an example of health crisis erasure in both informational and institutional contexts, particularly within the transgender and gender-nonconforming population. Breast cancer health information conforms and defaults to conventional cultural associations with femininity, as is the case with pregnancy and other “single-sex” conditions (Surkan, 2015). Many health information and research practices normalize sexualities, pathologize non-normative gender (Drescher et al., 2012; Fish, 2008; Müller, 2018), and fail to recognize gender-nonconforming categories (Frohard‐Dourlent et al., 2017). Because breast cancer health information is sexually normalized, an information boundary exists for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly among transgender and gender-nonconforming adults who are at greater risk of discrimination in healthcare settings (Casey et al., 2019). Transgender and gender-nonconforming people experience unique marginalization and risk with respect to breast cancer. We call upon and propose library and information research, education, and practice opportunities inclusive of the health information needs of transgender and gender-nonconforming populations

A Crisis of Erasure: Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Populations Navigating Breast Cancer Health Information

In this paper, we use the topic of breast cancer as an example of health crisis erasure in both informational and institutional contexts, particularly within the transgender and gender-nonconforming population. Breast cancer health information conforms and defaults to conventional cultural associations with femininity, as is the case with pregnancy and other “single-sex” conditions (Surkan, 2015). Many health information and research practices normalize sexualities, pathologize non-normative gender (Drescher et al., 2012; Fish, 2008; Müller, 2018), and fail to recognize gender-nonconforming categories (Frohard‐Dourlent et al., 2017). Because breast cancer health information is sexually normalized, an information boundary exists for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly among transgender and gender-nonconforming adults who are at greater risk of discrimination in healthcare settings (Casey et al., 2019). Transgender and gender-nonconforming people experience unique marginalization and risk with respect to breast cancer. We call upon and propose library and information research, education, and practice opportunities inclusive of the health information needs of transgender and gender-nonconforming populations

Evidence for Ring Caustics in the Milky Way

The late infall of cold dark matter onto our galaxy produces discrete flows and caustics in its halo. The recently discovered ring of stars near galactocentric distance 20 kpc and a series of sharp rises in the Milky Way rotation curve are interpreted as due to the presence of caustic rings of dark matter in the galactic plane. Their locations are consistent at the 3% level with the predictions of the self-similar infall model for the caustic ring radii. Also, a triangular feature in the IRAS map of the galactic plane is consistent with the imprint of a caustic ring of dark matter upon the baryonic matter. These observations imply that the dark matter in our neighborhood is dominated by a single flow whose density and velocity vector are estimated.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures. Version to be published in Phys. Lett. B. The paper has been revised in response to comments by referees and to include fresh evidenc

The effect of reduced street lighting on road casualties and crime in England and Wales: controlled interrupted time series analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many local authorities in England and Wales have reduced street lighting at night to save money and reduce carbon emissions. There is no evidence to date on whether these reductions impact on public health. We quantified the effect of 4 street lighting adaptation strategies (switch off, part-night lighting, dimming and white light) on casualties and crime in England and Wales. METHODS: Observational study based on analysis of geographically coded police data on road traffic collisions and crime in 62 local authorities. Conditional Poisson models were used to analyse longitudinal changes in the counts of night-time collisions occurring on affected roads during 2000-2013, and crime within census Middle Super Output Areas during 2010-2013. Effect estimates were adjusted for regional temporal trends in casualties and crime. RESULTS: There was no evidence that any street lighting adaptation strategy was associated with a change in collisions at night. There was significant statistical heterogeneity in the effects on crime estimated at police force level. Overall, there was no evidence for an association between the aggregate count of crime and switch off (RR 0.11; 95% CI 0.01 to 2.75) or part-night lighting (RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.86 to 1.06). There was weak evidence for a reduction in the aggregate count of crime and dimming (RR 0.84; 95% CI 0.70 to 1.02) and white light (RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.77 to 1.03). CONCLUSIONS: This study found little evidence of harmful effects of switch off, part-night lighting, dimming, or changes to white light/LEDs on road collisions or crime in England and Wales

MicroRNA expression in a phosphaturic mesenchymal tumour

Phosphaturic mesenchymal tumours are a heterogeneous set of bone and soft tissue neoplasms that can cause a number of paraneoplastic syndromes such as tumour induced osteomalacia. The term phosphaturic comes from the common finding that these tumours secrete high levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 which causes renal phosphate wasting leading to hypophosphatemia. Phosphaturic mesenchymal tumours are rare and diagnosis is difficult. A very active 68 year old male presented with bone pain and muscle weakness. He was hypophosphataemic and total alkaline phosphatase was markedly elevated. The patient was placed on vitamin D supplementation but his condition progressed. In the fifth year of presentation the patient required the use of a wheelchair and described “explosive” bone pain on physical contact. Serum 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D was low and serum fibroblast growth factor 23 was significantly elevated, raising suspicion of a phosphaturic mesenchymal tumour. A lesion was detected in his left femoral head and the patient underwent a total hip replacement. The patient displayed a rapid improvement to his condition and during a three year follow up period he returned to an active lifestyle. As molecular testing may help provide a robust diagnosis and is particularly useful in rare diseases we took a next generation sequencing approach to identify a differential expression of small RNAs in the resected tumour. Small RNAs are non-coding RNA molecules that play a key role in regulation of gene expression and can be used as specific biomarkers. We found an upregulation of miR-197. We also found a downregulation of miR-20b, miR-144 and miR-335 which is a small RNA profile typical of osteosarcoma. MiR-21, the most frequently upregulated microRNA in cancer, was downregulated. We conclude that the specific small RNA profile is typical of osteosarcoma except for the downregulation of oncogenic miR-21. Transcriptional plasticity of miR-197, which is computationally predicted to target fibroblast growth factor 23 messenger RNA, may be upregulated in a cellular effort to correct the ectopic expression of the protein

Can sulforaphane prevent the onset or slow the progression of osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterised in part by destruction of articular cartilage. There are currently no disease-modifying drugs to treat OA, with joint replacement the only treatment offered to patients at end-stage disease. With age the major risk factor for OA, the number of patients is predicted to double by 2030. An understanding of the role of bioactive molecules from the habitual diet on joint health offers a novel way in which to prevent the onset or slow the progression of OA. Our research has indicated that sulforaphane (SFN), gained from the consumption of cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli, could impact upon articular cartilage in laboratory models of OA because (1) it decreased the cytokine-induced expression of cartilage-degrading proteinases from chondrocytes (cartilage cells); (2) it prevented the cytokine-induced degradation of cartilage explants; and (3) it attenuated cartilage destruction in a murine model of OA. The major mechanism of action for SFN in human articular chondrocytes was inhibition of NFB, not activation of Nrf2 nor inhibition of histone deacetylases. A proof-of-principle human trial was performed to measure uptake of SFN, or its metabolites, in the human knee joint following a broccoli-rich diet, and the expression or levels of several genes and proteins in cartilage, fat and synovial fluid were also measured. Data from this trial are about to be published. Overall, these findings support the utility of SFN in the prevention or treatment of OA. The proof of this requires an appropriately designed clinical trial of pain and function which we are currently pursuing