Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site, Parks Canada: A Case Study

Focuses on values and their protection by examining the place of values in management. Grosse Ile's management is still evolving, and the eventful first phases of planning are still fresh in the minds of staff

The effect of organic fertiliser and formula feed in pond culture of the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man)

The supplementation of pelleted prawn feed with chicken manure significantly increased the mean growth rate, weight at harvest and marketable percent of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man) under the conditions of complete pond trials described. Unproved prawn production, when both feed and manure were applied to ponds, may be attributed to manure. The application of manure only resulted in significantly reduced yield, but did not produce significantly different mean growth rate, weight at harvest, marketable percent and marketable yield as compared to when feed only was applied. There was a definite requirement for pelleted feed but the application of both feed and manure was beneficial. At the levels employed, simultaneously decreased pellet input and increased manure load actually increased prawn mean growth rate, %Might at harvest, yield, marketable percent and marketable yield. There were no significant differences between treatments for the measured parameters of water and sediment chemistry, or benthic macroinvertebrates. Mineralisation of organic matter and assimilation of inorganic nutrients appeared efficient and the water was eutrophic in all treatments. A second pond experiment evaluated the frequency of supplemental manure application, as every 3.5. 7, or 14 days. Prawn mean growth rate, weight at harvest, yield and marketable yield were superior when manure was applied every 14 days. Decreasing application frequency resulted in increased autotrophic biomass and Improved efficiency of algal production but higher oxygen requirement. The manure may have induced short term shifts between autotrophy and heterotrophy. Phytoplankton appeared to be generally nitrogen dependent. There was an overall decrease in sediment nutrient concentrations with time, and rapid organic decomposition and mineralisation were indicated. In the final experiment, which employed enclosures, water and sediment total bacterial biomass were determined. After two months of the trial, water total bacterial biomass in the treatment which partially replaced feed with manure was 3.7 times that in the feed only treatment. 2.0 times that in the manure only treatment, and 1.7 times that of the commercial feed plus manure treatment. In all treatments, water bacterial biomass showed a general increase over time in all treatments, whereas the sediment bacterial biomass was more erratic. The occurrence of high sediment bacterial levels in the feed dominated treatments at an early stage in the experiment indicated overfeeding. High total nutrient concentrations in the water indicated a large capacity to support algae and the low inorganic nutrient concentrations indicated their rapid utilization. Prawns suffered a space effect when enclosed, and although survival was high in all treatments, mean weight at harvest was small. Both the feed conversion and financial ratios favoured the treatment wherein feed was partially replaced by applications of manure every 14 days. Correlations between prawn production and feed, for data combined from the three experiments, indicated that each of growth rate, mean weight at harvest and yield were strong but less than those when both feed and manure were added. Manure was strongly correlated with marketable yield, the index of economic concern

How robust is the evidence of an emerging or increasing female excess in physical morbidity between childhood and adolescence? Results of a systematic literature review and meta-analyses

For asthma and psychological morbidity, it is well established that higher prevalence among males in childhood is replaced by higher prevalence among females by adolescence. This review investigates whether there is evidence for a similar emerging female ‘excess’ in relation to a broad range of physical morbidity measures. Establishing whether this pattern is generalised or health outcome-specific will further understandings of the aetiology of gender differences in health. Databases (Medline; Embase; CINAHL; PsycINFO; ERIC) were searched for English language studies (published 1992–2010) presenting physical morbidity prevalence data for males and females, for at least two age-bands within the age-range 4–17 years. A three-stage screening process (initial sifting; detailed inspection; extraction of full papers), was followed by study quality appraisals. Of 11 245 identified studies, 41 met the inclusion criteria. Most (n = 31) presented self-report survey data (five longitudinal, 26 cross-sectional); 10 presented routinely collected data (GP/hospital statistics). Extracted data, supplemented by additional data obtained from authors of the included studies, were used to calculate odds ratios of a female excess, or female:male incident rate ratios as appropriate. To test whether these changed with age, the values were logged and regressed on age in random effects meta-regressions. These showed strongest evidence of an emerging/increasing female excess for self-reported measures of headache, abdominal pain, tiredness, migraine and self-assessed health. Type 1 diabetes and epilepsy, based on routinely collected data, did not show a significant emerging/increasing female excess. For most physical morbidity measures reviewed, the evidence broadly points towards an emerging/increasing female excess during the transition to adolescence, although results varied by morbidity measure and study design, and suggest that this may occur at a younger age than previously thought

Stage progression and neurological symptoms in Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense sleeping sickness: role of the CNS inflammatory response

Background: Human African trypanosomiasis progresses from an early (hemolymphatic) stage, through CNS invasion to the late (meningoencephalitic) stage. In experimental infections disease progression is associated with neuroinflammatory responses and neurological symptoms, but this concept requires evaluation in African trypanosomiasis patients, where correct diagnosis of the disease stage is of critical therapeutic importance. Methodology/Principal Findings: This was a retrospective study on a cohort of 115 T.b.rhodesiense HAT patients recruited in Eastern Uganda. Paired plasma and CSF samples allowed the measurement of peripheral and CNS immunoglobulin and of CSF cytokine synthesis. Cytokine and immunoglobulin expression were evaluated in relation to disease duration, stage progression and neurological symptoms. Neurological symptoms were not related to stage progression (with the exception of moderate coma). Increases in CNS immunoglobulin, IL-10 and TNF-α synthesis were associated with stage progression and were mirrored by a reduction in TGF-β levels in the CSF. There were no significant associations between CNS immunoglobulin and cytokine production and neurological signs of disease with the exception of moderate coma cases. Within the study group we identified diagnostically early stage cases with no CSF pleocytosis but intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis and diagnostically late stage cases with marginal CSF pleocytosis and no detectable trypanosomes in the CSF. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that there is not a direct linkage between stage progression, neurological signs of infection and neuroinflammatory responses in rhodesiense HAT. Neurological signs are observed in both early and late stages, and while intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis is associated with neurological signs, these are also observed in cases lacking a CNS inflammatory response. While there is an increase in inflammatory cytokine production with stage progression, this is paralleled by increases in CSF IL-10. As stage diagnostics, the CSF immunoglobulins and cytokines studied do not have sufficient sensitivity to be of clinical value

Transient but not genetic loss of miR-451 attenuates the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension

<b>Rationale:</b> MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs involved in the regulation of gene expression and have recently been implicated in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Previous work established that miR-451 is up-regulated in rodent models of PAH.<p></p> <b>Objectives:</b> The role of miR-451 in the pulmonary circulation is unknown. We therefore sought to assess the involvement of miR-451 in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension.<p></p> <b>Methods:</b> Silencing of miR-451 was performed in vivo using miR-451 knockout mice and an antimiR targeting mature miR-451 in rats. Coupled with exposure to hypoxia, indices of pulmonary arterial hypertension were assessed. The effect of modulating miR-451 on human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration was analysed.<p></p> <b>Measurements and Main Results:</b> We observed a reduction in systolic right ventricular pressure in hypoxic rats pre-treated with antimiR-451 compared to hypoxia alone (47.7 ± 1.36mmHg and 56.0 ± 2.03mmHg respectively, p<0.01). In miR-451 knockout mice following exposure to chronic hypoxia, no significant differences were observed compared to wild type hypoxic mice. In vitro analysis demonstrated that over-expression of miR-451 in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells promoted migration under serum-free conditions. No effect on cellular proliferation was observed.<p></p> <b>Conclusions:</b> Transient inhibition of miR-451 attenuated the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in hypoxia exposed rats. Genetic deletion of miR-451 had no beneficial effect on indices of pulmonary arterial hypertension, potentially due to pathway redundancy compensating for the loss of miR-451.<p></p&gt

Chaco Culture National Historical Park: A Case Study

Looks at the management of CCNHP by the National Park Service. The long history of CCNHP as a heritage site provides an excellent illustration of how values emerge and evolve with new knowledge